VIDEO: Kilmichael Residents Won’t Receive FEMA Aid

KILMICHAEL, Miss.(WCBI)—On the morning of April 30th one EF2 and three EF1 tornadoes touched down in Montgomery County.

The damage was significant then, but almost a month later, residents are still struggling with clean up efforts.

Miss Danny Witty’s home of 18 years is being repaired after the tornado. Witty is luck to have insurance but even that isn’t enough.

“Insurance don’t do everything it only goes so far I just believe that we should be able to get some kind of assistance with out having to beg for it,”said Witty.

100 homes and residences suffered some type of damage.  Many of those were uninsured and hoped FEMA would step in.

” I’m really disappointed that we haven’t gotten the FEMA assistance for individuals which I really feel for them. We are limited not only financially but with what we can do for them like I said just disappointing,”said Kilmichael  Mayor Bobby Howell.

Volunteers and none profits are helping fill in the gaps but those can’t match the resources provided by FEMA.

“I appreciate the public assistance very much I just had hoped with the needs in Holmes County and Montgomery County that we should have been approved for that and that would have been a great help to our citizens,”said Howell.

The federal agency says the monetary damage suffered in Montgomery County isn’t enough. Mayor Howell says his small town hurts just as much as larger cities.

“I understand rules that they have but if there is a major disaster in a big city that 10 thousand people are involved or whatever. That’s serious but it’s just as serious to our few hundred that need the help and we didn’t get it,”said Howell.

So far the city has collected 20 thousand tons of debris since the tornadoes hit.