Lawmakers at state level hoping to send more funds to communities damaged by recent tornado.

Lawmakers are hoping to move quickly to get some funding to the Mississippi counties ravaged by storms before the legislative session ends. Federal dollars have already been promised by the Biden Administration for aid after the governor requested an expedited major disaster declaration Friday night.

Democratic Representative Joseph Thomas of Yazoo City represents parts of the Delta including the town of Rolling Fork, which saw catastrophic storm damage. He says some of his constituents will need to start almost completely over.

"The town is really destroyed, so it's got to be rebuilt and we want to rebuild it better than it was." he said. "We got the federal declaration, [but] the immediate needs are housing and snap benefits so people can get at least three meals a day."

Floor discussion on possible funding was held this week. Representative John Hines, a democrat from Greenville, also serves parts of the Delta. He says the House is finalizing some numbers and details on how much aid the state will send to those affected by the tornado.

"When you look from end to end, the ticket possibly should at least be 80 to $100 million." he said. "But you know, we just don't know how much the [federal] government is going to bring and how much the state will be responsible for."

Hines says he is unsure when voting on the measures will take place.