News that the Federal Emergency Management Association will not provide any assistance to the flood victims of nearby Crosby and Centreville does not seem fair.

While Louisiana flood victims, just miles to the south across the state border, are eligible for federal help, the flood damage in Mississippi has been deemed not large enough to justify federal help.

That is infuriating for the approximately 200 residents in Crosby and Centreville whose lives have been turned upside down just as completely as their Louisiana neighbors.

FEMA’s mission, it seems, is to provide help when the local governing authority is overwhelmed and its own resources depleted.

That makes sense, but it also suggests that the state of Mississippi could — and should — be doing more to help the flood victims in Crosby and Centreville.

This is not a widespread event like 2005’s Hurricane Katrina that overwhelmed every potential resource available. This is much more small in scale and Mississippi’s own government seems more than capable of handling.

But at the moment, Mississippi seems slow in working to help the people affected rebuild their lives.

Mississippi’s state leadership needs to quickly work to get resources to help those flood victims in Crosby and Centreville and not let up until all have their feet firmly replanted on the ground and a good stable roof over their heads.