While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance [View all]

Source: ABC News

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Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves asked the Trump administration for a major disaster declaration on April 1 after 18 tornadoes tore through the state on March 14 and 15, leaving seven people dead and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged.

The declaration would allow the state to access a wide range of FEMA resources, including financial aid for individuals and for government agencies still removing debris and repairing infrastructure.

“We don’t have a declaration yet. People are still hurting,” said Royce McKee, emergency management director for Walthall County, which includes Tylertown.

Mississippi’s request comes at a time of upheaval for FEMA. The agency's acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was recently ousted after he publicly disagreed with proposals to dismantle FEMA, an idea President Donald Trump has floated in calling the agency “very bureaucratic” and “very slow.”

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/trump-overhauls-fema-mississippi-tornado-survivors-await-assistance-121975001

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Walthall County spent $700,000 cleaning up the damage but has no more funds available and has halted cleanup operations until it receives federal help.