An additional 58 Mississippi counties have been designated for federal emergency aid to supplement state, local, and tribal response efforts for areas affected by Hurricane Ida, beginning on Aug. 28 and continuing.
Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Desoto, Grenada, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jasper, Kemper, Lafayette, Lauderdale, Leake, Lee, Leflore, Lowndes, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Warren, Washington, Webster, Winston, Yalobusha, and Yazoo Counties have been added to the emergency declaration approved by the President on Aug. 28, 2021.
Under the emergency declaration, FEMA is authorized to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures authorized under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, to save lives, to protect property, public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the storm. Reimbursement for emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75% federal funding.
With the additions, every county in Mississippi has now been designated for federal emergency aid under the emergency declaration. The initial list included: Adams, Amite, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Stone, Walthall, Wayne and Wilkinson Counties.