Mississippi has requested a Major Disaster Declaration from President Biden for public and individual assistance in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Ida made landfall Sunday, August 29, near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph. The National Weather Service confirmed eight tornadoes formed in Mississippi due to the tropical cyclone. Ida caused widespread damage to homes, businesses and power grids; and killed three people.

The State is requesting Individual Assistance for the following eight counties: Amite, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson.

Validated numbers show in those eight counties there were: 11 homes destroyed; 57 homes with major damage; 377 with minor damage; 846 homes affected.

At this time, 19 counties met their thresholds with an estimated total of approximately $22.5 million worth of damage. The counties included in the request for Public Assistance are: Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Franklin, George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Lincoln, Pearl River, Pike, Simpson, Walthall, Wayne and Wilkinson.

Individual Assistance is for residents in declared counties. It can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals recover from the effects of a disaster.

The purpose of the Public Assistance Program is to support local governments and certain nonprofits to recover from major disasters by providing them with grant assistance for debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures, and the restoration of public infrastructure.

The president must approve the request for federal assistance to become available to local and county governments and certain nonprofits.