While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance

TYLERTOWN, Miss. — More than two months after a tornado destroyed his home, Brian Lowery still looks through the rubble, hoping to find a tie clip his mother gave him, made from the center stone of her wedding band.

''I still have hope,'' Lowery said.

He, his wife and 13-year-old son made it to safety before the tornado ripped apart their trailer home of 15 years, but the recovery from the storm has been a slow and painful process. Mississippi's request for federal aid is still pending before the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meaning badly needed assistance has not yet made it to his hard-hit community of Tylertown to recover from the storms that struck in mid-March.

''I don't know what you got to do or what you got to have to be able to be declared for a federal disaster area because this is pretty bad,'' Lowery said. ''We can't help you because, whatever, we're waiting on a letter; we're waiting on somebody to sign his name. You know, all that. I'm just over it.''

It is not unusual for weeks to pass before FEMA approves a declaration. President Donald Trump has pointed to these waits as a reason he is considering dismantling the agency, calling FEMA ''very bureaucratic'' and ''very slow.''

The wait could provide a glimpse into what's in store for communities around the country as the summer storm season arrives and FEMA is mired in turmoil. A stretch of states including Kentucky, Missouri and Oklahoma have already been battered with tornadoes this week, setting the stage for more disaster requests to FEMA. And the Atlantic hurricane season is just around the corner.

March storms left 7 dead and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged

In Mississippi, nearly 20 tornadoes tore through the state on March 14 and 15, leaving seven people dead and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged. Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves asked the Trump administration for a major disaster declaration on April 1.

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.

Walthall County was hit especially hard by the massive storm system that wreaked havoc across multiple states. The storm spawned two significant tornadoes in the county, where four people died.

McKee said the county has sunk an estimated $700,000 into cleaning up the damage but can't afford to spend more and has halted operations until it receives federal help.

''We need federal help, and we need it desperately, and we need it now,'' said Bobby McGinnis, a Tylertown resident and firefighter. ''I know President Trump said that — America first, we're going to help our American folks first. But we haven't seen the federal folks down here.''

Requests for help come at a time of upheaval for FEMA

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 Trump's proposal to get "rid of FEMA.''

David Richardson, FEMA's new acting administrator, committed himself to executing Trump's vision for the agency. He also previewed potential policy changes, saying there could be ''more cost-sharing with states'' and that FEMA would coordinate federal assistance ''when deemed necessary."

While Mississippi has been waiting, a similar major disaster declaration request out of Arkansas after the storms hit was denied, appealed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and finally approved May 13.

''We are encouraged by FEMA's decision regarding Arkansas' application from the same storm system that hit Mississippi,'' Scott Simmons, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency's director of external affairs, said in a statement. ''We anxiously await a positive decision.''

In Missouri, there are frustrations about the federal response to March storms

In Missouri, the federal response to storms earlier this year is being criticized as residents pick up the pieces from a Friday twister. The EF3 tornado packing winds of up to 150 mph (241 kph) slammed into St. Louis on Friday, and the city is awaiting a disaster declaration from the Missouri governor's office so it can access federal help.

''We need to get the federal government mobilized,'' said U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican. ''All federal resources that can be brought to bear here should be.''

The senator also expressed frustration over the federal response to a deadly March storm.

''We cannot wait months. I'm not happy about the fact we're still waiting from all of that damage two months ago. We lost 12 people in those storms. We've lost seven here,'' he said. ''The scope of the damage is immense.''

Mississippi lawmakers press federal officials about assistance

Mississippi lawmakers have been pressing federal officials on the issue. During a congressional hearing in early May, Republican Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest asked U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, to push forward the request.

''I would ask you if you could make sure that you could do everything to expedite that request,'' Guest said. ''It is impacting my local jurisdictions with debris cleanup. It is impacting people as they seek to recover.''

Republican Mississippi U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also asked Noem about FEMA assistance and the administration's new approach to the agency.

''President Trump has been very clear that he believes that the way that FEMA exists today should not continue,'' Noem responded. ''He wants to make sure that those reforms are happening where states are empowered to do the response and trained and equipped, and then the federal government would come in and support them and financially be there when they need them on their worst day.''

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Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.