The city of Moss Point has allocated $2 million for recovery costs following the EF-2 tornado that ripped through the town in mid-June.
On Wednesday, the Moss Point Board of Aldermen voted in favor of using the funds to pay for debris pickup and other cleaning services throughout the community.
Mayor Billy Knight explained during the meeting that the city will cover the costs for the time being until they receive a notice from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).
“MEMA is now verifying those numbers. The governor has those numbers, and the governor is trying to make sure and trying to decide whether the numbers meet the threshold to a point he can ask for a federal declaration,” Knight said during an interview on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. “We just have to be patient, and we can’t force the process. We can’t make it go any faster. In the meantime, we try to accommodate [victims] in as many ways as we can.”
In late June, Knight said 341 homes and businesses were either damaged or destroyed by the tornado, which had winds reach up to 130 miles per hour. At this time, approximately 18 percent of debris has been collected in Moss Point.
“We already had a contract in place, but we had to get trucks in. We had to get organized for this stuff,” Knight stated. “We know people want their community cleaned up. I want it cleaned up, but we had to get things in order.”
Since then, MEMA executive director Stephen McCraney has confirmed that the agency is working to receive emergency declaration status for the entire state. To do so, there must be at least $5.2 million in total damages.
“When we get that declaration from MEMA, we will get reimbursed for that, but we don’t know when that is,” Knight said. “That’s why we need to have money in hand for us to pay our bills.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be traveling to Moss Point on Friday to further assess damages.
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