Mississippi Seeks Federal Disaster Aid After Winter Storms

Mississippi is asking President Joe Biden to approve a major disaster declaration to help local governments and nonprofit groups recover costs from responding to winter storms that brought large parts of the state to a standstill.

Gov. Tate Reeves’ office announced Wednesday that 31 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians estimated a total of about $25 million in damage from storms that occurred Feb. 11-19.

The counties included in the request for public assistance are: Adams, Attala, Choctaw, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Franklin, Grenada, Hinds, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Kemper, Lafayette, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lincoln, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Pike, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Tallahatchie, Walthall, Warren, Winston and Yazoo.

The governor’s office said more counties could be added to the declaration request if they meet a threshold in damage assessments.

The federal public assistance program provides money for debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures and restoration of public infrastructure.