Mississippi seeks federal assistance for June tornadoes, severe weather

Governor Reeves says the disaster declaration request is the next step as local communities continue to restore, rebuild, and recover.

On Monday, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced that he has requested a Major Disaster Declaration for 16 counties impacted by the severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that swept across the state from June 14 to June 19, 2023.

The request for federal financial assistance comes as local communities continue to clean up from five days of severe weather last month that saw 18 tornadoes touch down in the state. The towns of Louin and Moss Point saw significant damage.

“The state of Mississippi has been working diligently with local and federal partners to assess the damage stemming from these storms,” said Governor Reeves said in a statement. “This disaster declaration request is the next step forward as we continue to help Mississippians restore, rebuild, and recover. We’ll be here for as long as it takes.”

According to the Governor’s office, the request seeks individual assistance for Jackson and Jasper Counties as well as public assistance to assist local governments primarily with debris removal in Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith, and Wayne Counties.

Since Reeves took office as Governor in 2020, FEMA data shows that Mississippi has had eight Major Disaster Declarations along with five other Emergency Declarations from the federal government related to severe weather events. The most recent Major Disaster Declaration came in March 2023 when tornadoes ripped through the Delta impacting Rolling Fork, Amory and the surrounding communities.

The National Weather Service reported that Mississippi broke a 49-year-old record for the number of tornadoes in the month of June, when 19 struck the state. The previous record was in 1974 when seven tornadoes struck the state in June.