Disaster Declaration Signed for State

By The Associated Press

JACKSON — President Obama has issued a disaster declaration for the state of Mississippi in the wake of what is now Tropical Storm Isaac.

The declaration provides federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by Isaac.

Federal funding is available to local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in Amite, Attala, Carroll, Clarke, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Rankin, Stone, Walthall, Wayne, Wilkinson, and Yazoo counties.

Funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Craig Fugate, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, named Terry L. Quarles as FEMA coordinator in Mississippi.