STATE OF THE STORM: Southern States Continue To Struggle Over A Week After Winter Storms
As death toll rises to at least 55 and hundreds of thousands remain without power, federal response remains inadequate
WASHINGTON, D.C. — FIRST: Historic winter storms battered the South starting January 24, bringing devastating ice and freezing temperatures to Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and surrounding states. The storms killed at least 55 people across the region, caused hundreds of thousands of power outages, and left vulnerable communities struggling without heat in life-threatening conditions.
THEN: Despite the scale of the disaster, FEMA's support has been minimal and slow to materialize. Communities were left to fend for themselves as power outages stretched from days into weeks. The agency's failure to provide robust, immediate assistance has left thousands of families in danger — a direct result of the Trump administration's ongoing politicization and gutting of disaster response capabilities.
NOW: Over a week after the storms hit, the crisis continues.
At least 55,000 households across Mississippi remained without power for over a week, with some in Tennessee not expected to see restoration until February 11 — nearly three weeks after the initial storm.
The death toll in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee continue to rise.
Meanwhile, the region faces a looming secondary disaster: massive utility price spikes and an eviction crisis that will devastate the South's most vulnerable residents. In northeast Louisiana, applications for financial assistance from the United Way of Northeast Louisiana spiked 7,100 over just 24 hours.
“While families across Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi struggled to stay warm without power, the Trump administration is more concerned with dismantling FEMA than deploying it," said Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council member Davante Lewis. "The firing of dozens of CORE team members just weeks before this catastrophic storm wasn't a coincidence—it was a preview of the chaos and incompetence that has wrecked our nation's disaster response capabilities. We cannot accept a federal government that leaves vulnerable communities to suffer while playing political games with the very agency designed to save lives."
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