Tornado aftermath: Monroe County community joins forces for answers

Group consists of individuals, businesses and churches to help the long term recovery process

AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – It has been more than six months since a deadly tornado hit Monroe County. Hundreds of homes in Amory were destroyed or received heavy damage.

While recovery efforts are ongoing, some people are still waiting for answers. That is what prompted a group of individuals, businesses, and houses of worship to join together.

The group is planning a community-wide meeting Thursday evening, to hopefully bring much-needed answers to tornado victims.

Throughout Monroe County and Amory, crews are working one roof at a time.

Some homes remain untouched, and unlivable, six months after the EF3 tornado struck. Many tornado victims had no insurance or were underinsured. So, even those with more than adequate insurance are adjusting to their new normal.

“We’re living with my mother-in-law,” said Lindsay Mitchell.

Her home received significant damage, and she wanted to do whatever she could to help other victims. She is the director of the newly formed Monroe Strong Long-Term Recovery Committee. The group was formed to help survivors of the March tornado.

The committee is hosting a meeting Thursday evening for anyone needing help with applications for assistance, or anyone who has any questions about the recovery process.

“They want to know what the process looks like, how long it will be before they can get back in their home, how long until they get assistance,” Mitchell said.

In the immediate aftermath, volunteers were onsite, working hard in the cleanup effort. Another goal of the community meeting will be to coordinate future volunteer efforts to help tornado victims rebuild.

“We are looking for a lot of different ways for volunteers to help. One would be warehousing space, materials, and equipment. Another is for volunteers to be housed, and people to transport them to and from the locations. We need volunteers making phone calls, swinging hammers, any type is very much needed,” she said.

Thursday’s meeting is open to anyone in Monroe County who was impacted by the tornado.

Thursday evening’s meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the Reverend Benjamin Wax Community Center.

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