Several rounds of severe weather made their way through the state this past week leading to flooding in the Delta, tornadoes near Jackson and minor damage in a host of towns stretching from Biggersville to Biloxi.

Lauderdale County was fortunate to escape the worst of the storms, but residents should still take the time to report any damage to their homes or properties as even minor issues can help others for whom the weather was much more devastating.

Mississippi is no stranger to natural disasters, and many of us can recall hearing about federal emergency funding coming to the state to help with storm recovery. What people may not know, however, is that those dollars are dependent on the state meeting a certain damage threshold.

When a storm comes through, residents are encouraged to report any damage to the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency. LEMA uses those reports to assess the amount of damage the county has received and submits its data to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

MEMA then aggregates the data from all 82 counties and submits it to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Federal aid only becomes available when the state reaches around $4.5 million in reported damages, and individual counties must also meet minimum damage assessments to qualify for funding.

Mississippi is known as “the hospitality state,” and nowhere is that more evident than after a storm. Ovens heat up, chainsaws buzz and the community operates as one to clear roads, provide hot meals and aid those impacted by the weather.

Paperwork is likely the last thing on most residents’ minds after severe weather, but taking time to walk around your home or property, take photos of any problems and submit a damage report can be the deciding factor in whether or not emergency aid gets to those in need.

Damage reports can be submitted at lemaonline.com.