Trump approves FEMA disaster relief for 8 states

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.

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.