County continues with storm, tornado cleanup
Published 12:17 am Tuesday, May 16, 2017
NATCHEZ — Adams County Emergency Management Director Robert Bradford encouraged residents Monday to be patient if they are looking for tornado clean up assistance.
Bradford said the county has finished its report on the damage and submitted it to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Bradford said 75-80 residents were impacted and approximately four businesses.
Bradford said to provide individual assistance, the county needs a declaration of from the U.S. President, which would enable residents to have access to Federal Emergency Management Agency monies. FEMA would help with debris removal and any damage to residence, Bradford said.
The FEMA declaration would also allow the county to be reimbursed for some of the overtime road crews have incurred in debris removal, Bradford said.
FEMA would at a later date estimate a dollar figure on how much property damage the storm caused, Bradford said.
County Road Manager Robbie Dollar said the county is now focusing on clearing the debris left by roads. Dollar said in the next week or two, road crews plan to do another pass to pick up any debris that is curbside.
Dollar said the grass cutting crews are separate from the cleanup effort and are still active.
The National Weather Service confirmed earlier this month that an EF2 tornado struck the Cloverdale area on April 30. Wind speeds reached up to an estimated 115 miles per hour.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant already has issued an emergency declaration on the state level.