NATCHEZ — Even Uncle Sam has to play by Natchez’s rules.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Response Center had to take down the signs it had posted on Seargent S. Prentiss Drive on Thursday for being in violation of the city’s sign ordinance.

The DRC, which was opened after Adams County was added to the federal disaster declaration that was issued after Tropical Storm Isaac, is located in the Parkway Baptist Church building.

FEMA Spokesman Gene Kauffman said that despite having less visibility from the roadway, the center is still open and receiving applications from those who need disaster recovery assistance.

“We didn’t have a problem with taking the signs down, we just want to make sure people understand we are still here to provide any assistance they need,” Kauffman said.

“They might see that our signs are gone and think that we are gone.”

The signs in question were located along the roadway and needed to be removed for safety reasons, said Anita Smith with the city’s planning and zoning office.

“We want the people to be able to get the information they want and want everybody to get the assistance they need, but we want everybody to be safe doing it,” Smith said.

“We cannot allow any kind of sign in the median or right on the highway because it distracts the drivers. We don’t want anybody to have an accident reading those signs.”

Smith said the planning office has offered FEMA several alternative sites to hang their signs, and the federal agency does not have to apply for or get a sign permit. FEMA just can’t post the signs where they were.

The DRC sign can be hung on the building or on the church’s billboard, Smith said, or FEMA can work with private property owners in the area to place the signs there if that is what the organization chooses to do.

The disaster recovery center is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

It is tentatively scheduled to be open until Sept. 28.