Mississippi officials remain hopeful that local tornado survivors will get help from the federal government, even after the White House denied funding for other states hit by the same extreme weather.
During a Thursday press conference, Gov. Tate Reeves expressed optimism that President Donald Trump would approve his month-old request for a major disaster declaration, which would unlock federal funding for residents affected by a series of March storms.
“We’re in regular communication with the White House, and I’m hopeful that our declaration gets approved soon,” Reeves told Mississippi Free Press reporter Heather Harrison. He added that it is “not unusual” for the government to take up to 45 days to review and authorize such a request.
More than 900 Mississippi homes suffered damage during severe storms on March 14 and 15, which conjured 18 tornadoes across the state and displaced over 200 residents, state officials announced in the days that followed. Seven residents lost their lives.
The storms also tore through neighboring Arkansas, prompting state officials to request similar disaster relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Trump administration rejected Arkansas’s request on April 11, stating that the reported damage “was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state,” CNN first reported last week.
Despite the denial in Arkansas, Mississippi’s Emergency Management Agency says the destruction from the storms is comparable to previous disasters that triggered federal assistance. When an especially disastrous tornado struck the Mississippi communities of Rolling Fork and Silver City on March 24, 2023, causing around $100 million in damage, Reeves swiftly requested a Major Disaster Declaration and President Joe Biden approved it within two days of the storm.
Total verifiable damage in the state from the March 2025 tornadoes has reached $18 million, well above the threshold needed to qualify for FEMA public aid, one official explained.
“We feel hopeful that they will look favorably upon our application,” Scott Simmons, director of external affairs at MEMA, told the Mississippi Free Press on April 29. “I can’t think of a disaster that has met the threshold that has not been covered—certainly not (in) the state of Mississippi.”
Reeves has requested FEMA assistance for individual storm victims in 14 counties: Carroll, Covington, Grenada, Holmes, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Leflore, Marion, Montgomery, Pike, Smith, and Walthall.
The governor has also requested funding for building and infrastructure repairs in 17 counties: Calhoun, Carroll, Covington, Grenada, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jefferson Davis, Lee, Leflore, Marion, Pike, Prentiss, Sharkey, Smith, Walthall, and Washington.
Since assuming power in January, the Trump administration has withheld FEMA assistance following disasters in Arkansas, West Virginia and the state of Washington. The president has also moved to overhaul the agency and contemplated eliminating it entirely, aiming to shift the handling of natural disasters over to state and local governments.
“Let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen,” Trump said in January while visiting hurricane-ravaged North Carolina.
Earlier this week, Trump appointed former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant to what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security called “a bipartisan group tasked with reforming and streamlining the nation’s emergency management and disaster response system.” The administration has already fired hundreds of FEMA employees as part of a broader purge of the federal workforce.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has appealed Trump’s decision to deny FEMA funding for her state, telling local news outlets that her office has “provided additional and extra information that bolsters the need” for assistance.
In Mississippi, Simmons said MEMA weighs a “laundry list of scenarios” for any disaster relief request, but he declined to provide details on how it would respond if the funding is denied. He noted, however, that his agency is not equipped to finance disaster recovery efforts in the state without federal assistance.
“Mississippi has not funded MEMA to handle all disaster recovery costs that occur in the state,” he said. “That would require some changes from the Legislature.”
Over six weeks after the storms, many displaced Mississippians have been living with friends and relatives while they wait for more permanent housing options to materialize, the Mississippi Free Press reported last month. The state has leaned heavily on volunteers and nonprofits to assist with recovery efforts in places like Tylertown, and officials expect that need to persist even with federal funding in place.
As Mississippi awaits a decision from the White House, Simmons urged residents affected by the storms to hold on for just a little while longer.
“(Being) patient is hard to do when you’re without a home,” he acknowledged. “But we’re doing everything we can on our end to try and get the deal done.”
Heather Harrison contributed to this report.
