President Donald Trump on Friday approved Mississippi’s request for federal assistance to help recover from deadly tornadoes and severe weather that left damage spread across the state on March 14 to 15.
“That’s good news,” said Walthall County Emergency Director Royce McKee on Friday, over two months since the storms hit. “Everybody will be happy we can start picking up the debris. People will start to see the light at the end of tunnel.”
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said it didn’t know yet how much money would come to the state. MEMA did confirm that the federal government would cover 100% of costs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individual Assistance aid — a program that sends direct payments to those affected by the storms — and 75% of costs for FEMA’s Public Assistance, which pays for repairs to public infrastructure. The state and local governments will split the remaining those costs.
The 11 counties that qualified for Individual Assistance are: Covington, Grenada, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jefferson Davis, Leflore, Marion, Montgomery, Pike, Smith and Walthall. The 17 counties that qualified for Public Assistance are: Calhoun, Carroll, Covington, Grenada, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jefferson Davis, Lee, Leflore, Marion, Pike, Prentiss, Sharkey, Smith, Walthall and Washington.
Residents impacted by the storms can apply for assistance through this online portal, by calling 1-800-621-3362, or on FEMA’s mobile app.
The March storms killed seven Mississippians and injured dozens of others, while damaging nearly a thousand homes, according to MEMA’s tally. Of those homes, the storms destroyed 164, and left another 204 with “major damage,” which usually means a home is no longer habitable.
In Walthall County, McKee said over 100 homes were destroyed or received major damage. The biggest priority with FEMA’s support, he said, is taking care of displaced residents who are either living in hotels or staying with family.
“We’re a poor county and have a lot of people that don’t have insurance,” McKee said. “It’ll be leaps and bounds for them trying to get back to normal.”
Starting next week, FEMA will have in-person stations in Mississippi to enroll storm victims in assistance programs. MEMA Director of External Affairs Scott Simmons said the state agency will soon make information on those locations available on its website.
In Leflore County, where the storms damaged 314 homes, Emergency Director Fred Randle said it took a while for insurance companies to reach some places, and even then there were “a lot” of costs that insurance didn’t cover.
“We had a lot of people (where) it was two weeks before the insurance adjuster could get out and check their home because there was so much damage everywhere,” Randle said, adding that while it was nerve-wracking waiting over two months for the decision on FEMA aid, it was good news to receive going into the holiday weekend. “It’ll help us tremendously. Something to help celebrate.”
