Presidents are taking longer to declare major natural disasters. For some, the wait is agonizing

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As an ominous storm approached Buddy Anthony’s one-story brick home, he took shelter in his new Ford F-250 pickup truck parked underneath a nearby carport.

Seconds later, a tornado tore apart Anthony’s home and damaged the truck while lifting it partly in the air. Anthony emerged unhurt. But he had to replace his vehicle with a used truck that became his home—the spot where he slept for weeks while waiting for President Donald Trump to issue a major disaster declaration so that federal money would be freed for individuals reeling from loss.

Disaster survivors such as Anthony are having to wait longer to get aid from the federal government, according to a new Associated Press (AP) analysis of decades of data. On average, it took less than two weeks for a governor’s request for a presidential disaster declaration to be granted in the 1990s and early 2000s. That rose to about three weeks during the past decade under presidents from both major parties. It’s taking more than a month, on average, during Trump’s current term, the AP found.

The delays mean individuals must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses, temporary lodging and home repairs. Delays in disaster declarations can also hamper recovery efforts by local officials who are uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure.

Mississippi’s governor requested a federal disaster declaration on April 1. Trump granted that request 50 days later, on May 21, while approving aid for both individuals and public entities.

On that same day, Trump also approved eight other major disaster declarations for storms, floods or fires in seven other states. In most cases, more than a month had passed since the requests and about two months since the date of those disasters.

“We couldn’t figure out why the president took so long to help people in this country,” said Jayess resident Dana Grimes.

This article and video were provided by The Associated Press.

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[Buddy Anthony walks through his ruined home]

[Buddy Anthony shows his former bedroom and bathroom]

Buddy Anthony (interview): “Tornado hit it. That’s all I can tell you.”

[Exposed remains of Buddy Anthony’s home]

Buddy Anthony (interview): “I lost everything I had. I had to start all over again. I had to buy clothes. I had to buy a way of going. Had to buy a place to stay. And I’m just a poor, old country boy.”

[Buddy Anthony smokes a cigarette on the porch of his new home]

[Buddy Anthony’s trailer home]

Buddy Anthony (interview): “I’m just — fortunately, I was lucky enough to get the money when I did to buy this place. Cause if not, I’d been, yeah, sleeping in my truck.”

[Buddy Anthony sits inside his car]

[Buddy Anthony ashes a cigarette]

[Associated Press graphic showing the average time it takes for a president to approve disaster aid]

Dana Grimes (interview): “It was horrible. We couldn’t figure out why the president took so long to help people in this country.”

[Driving shot of tornado devastation]

[Tornado wreckage]

Dana Grimes (interview): “I lost my house, my truck, my garage.”

[Dana Grimes walks through her wrecked garage]

Dana Grimes (interview): “Now we just have to wait on FEMA.”

[FEMA sign]

Dana Grimes (interview): “They said I should hear something between — FEMA — between September first and September 30th.”

[Dana Grimes walks across her property]

Dana Grimes (interview): “So, it’s slow.”

[Shelly Shultz looks at her phone]

[Shelly Shultz swipes through photos of tornado damage]

Shelly Shultz (interview): “It’s been frustrating mostly for the lack of help.”

[Shelly Shultz exits trailer]

Shelly Shultz (interview): “FEMA, they’re worthless.”

[Shelly Shultz walks across her property]

Shelly Shultz (interview): “It was two months later, and everything they had was like you know emergency water, emergency medical. It’s like that’s all — we’d be dead by now!”

[Dana Grimes looks out on her wrecked property]

Shelly Shultz (interview): “Everybody pays their taxes, but you know, it doesn’t come back to, you know, the people who need it.”

[Buddy Anthony bends over inside his ruined home]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.

The related lesson for this video will be published next Tuesday.