JACKSON – Gov. Tate Reeves has requested a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump for five Mississippi counties impacted by severe storms earlier this month.
The request covers damage from severe storms, strong tornadoes, straight-line winds, hail and flash flooding that happened May 6-7. According to the governor’s office, the storms produced seven tornadoes, injured 26 people and damaged 425 homes across the state.
“Today, I requested a Major Disaster Declaration from President Trump,” Reeves said. “The state of Mississippi will continue to do everything in its power to help Mississippians rebuild and recover.”
The state is requesting individual assistance for Franklin, Lamar, Lawrence, Lincoln and Wilkinson counties.
FEMA-validated numbers show that in those five counties, 88 homes were destroyed, 112 homes received major damage, 140 had minor damage and 85 homes were affected.
The same five counties are also included in the request for public assistance. Joint damage assessments were conducted by FEMA and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, and officials said damage assessments indicate the threshold requirements have been met for public assistance.
According to the governor’s office, the request may be amended in the future to add additional counties if more damage is discovered and reported.
Individual assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help people recover from the disaster.
Public assistance helps local governments and certain nonprofits recover from major disasters by providing grant assistance for debris removal, emergency protective measures and the restoration of public infrastructure.
The request must be approved by the president before federal assistance becomes available to local and county governments and certain nonprofits.
