Trump approves FEMA disaster relief for 8 states
[May 24, 2025]
By SOPHIE BATES
JACKSON,
Miss. (AP) — President Donald Trump green-lit disaster relief for eight
states on Friday, assistance that some of the communities rocked by
natural disasters have been waiting on for months.
The major
disaster declaration approvals allow Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,
Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas access to financial support
through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. |
Family friend Trey Bridges, 16, climbs a mountain of tornado debris to
help the Blansett family recover items not destroyed by Saturday's
tornado, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Tylertown, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio
V. Solis, File) |
|
Several states requested the aid in response to damage from a
massive storm system in mid-March.
“This support will go a long way in helping Mississippi to
rebuild and recover. Our entire state is grateful for his
approval,” said Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, whose state
experienced 18 tornados between March 14 and 15.
Mississippi residents in the hard-hit Walthall County expressed
frustration earlier this month over how long they had been
waiting for federal help. The county's emergency manager said
debris removal operations stalled in early May when the county
ran out of money while awaiting federal assistance.
Earlier this week Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed
to expedite Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe's request for disaster
assistance, after being pressed on the issue by U.S. Sen. Josh
Hawley, a Missouri Republican.
“That is one of the failures that FEMA has had in the past is
that people who incur this kind of damage and lose everything
sit there for months and sometimes years and never get the
promised critical response that they think or that they believe
they should be getting from the federal government,” Noem said.
Trump has pointed to wait times as one reason he's looking to
make major changes to the agency. FEMA's newly-appointed acting
chief has said he plans to push more responsibility for disaster
response and recovery onto states.
FEMA did not immediately respond to questions about what
prompted the flurry of approvals.
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