Tallahatchie is one of 13 Mississippi counties added to a recent federal disaster declaration issued in response to February storms, tornadoes and flooding.
On April 23, President Donald Trump declared seven counties — Calhoun, Chickasaw, Clay, Grenada, Lowndes, Pontotoc and Tishomingo — as federal disaster areas.
Gov. Phil Bryant later requested the 13 additional counties to be included, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on May 1 approved the expansion of the declaration.
In addition to Tallahatchie, new counties include Alcorn, Carroll, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Montgomery, Panola, Prentiss, Quitman, Union, Webster and Yalobusha.
Under the federal declaration, public assistance in the form of federal grants is available to local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations in counties included in the disaster declaration.
In addition, the designated counties could receive federal funding on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities, FEMA noted.
The public assistance is available for debris removal, emergency protective measures, roads and bridges, water control facilities, buildings and equipment, utilities, and parks/recreational facilities and other items.
Mississippi’s request for federal assistance for individuals and households was denied, but the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency plans to appeal the ruling to FEMA, the state agency announced last week.
MEMA and FEMA are continuing to work on joint damage assessments on other counties that were affected by the February storms, and additional designations may occur at a later date.
For more information about state recovery efforts, visit MEMA’s website at www.msema.org.
