President Trump on Aug. 4 approved major disaster declarations for West Virginia, Missouri, Nebraska and Mississippi, an unusually heavy single-day declaration load triggered by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding across the central and eastern United States.
The four simultaneous declarations unlock federal Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs for survivors in affected counties across all four states. Federal resources will begin flowing to state and local emergency management agencies to support recovery efforts.
Mississippi’s declaration covers damage from Tropical Storm Arthur, while the remaining three states experienced severe storms, tornadoes and flooding events that exceeded state and local response capacity.
Individual Assistance provides direct aid to affected households, including temporary housing, home repair grants and crisis counseling. Public Assistance reimburses state and local governments for debris removal, emergency protective measures and infrastructure repair.
The four declarations reflect the breadth of extreme weather events hitting multiple regions of the country simultaneously, stretching federal emergency management resources across FEMA Regions III, IV, VI and VII.
Each declaration followed a formal request from the affected state’s governor certifying that the disaster exceeded the state’s capacity to respond without federal assistance. FEMA will deploy damage assessment teams to determine the full scope of losses in each state.