Gov. Reeves’ request for federal assistance approved by White House

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Governor Tate Reeves’ request for federal funding for individual and public assistance for the counties impacted by the deadly storms across Mississippi has been approved by President Biden.

Friday night, fatal storms and tornadoes took the lives of 21 Mississippians, left dozens injured and left hundreds without homes in Sharkey, Humphreys, Carroll, and Monroe counties.

“Thank you to our entire federal delegation for the support and to President Biden for recognizing the scale of the damage in Mississippi and quickly approving our disaster declaration - a critical step in disaster response,” Gov Reeves said in a tweet. “Respond, recover, rebuild together. That is the mission.”

Individual assistance is available to residents in those four counties and can include grants for temporary housing, home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of this disaster.

Public assistance federal funding is available to the state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work, including direct federal assistance under the Public Assistance program, damaged by severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes in the four counties.

Those who sustained losses during the storms can now apply for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired.

According to MEMA, response efforts are still ongoing.

If you would like to make a donation to the families in need, you can donate bottled water, canned goods, and paper products at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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