Lawmakers Tour Tornado Damage; Offer Hope For State Aid, FEMA

February 21, 2016

Saturday morning, Northwest Florida lawmakers toured the devastation from last Monday’s tornado, talking to the victims and vowing to do all they can to make sure assistance dollars flow to the Century area.

NorthEscambia.com was along for the ride as State Sen. Greg Evers, Rep. Clay Ingram and Rep. Doug Broxson joined Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry, Century Mayor Freddie McCall and Council President Ben Boutwell in touring the area.

Along the way, they stopped to talk to residents that were out working on the clean up, like Helen Mincy.

“I don’t have anything and government officials need to get out here and help us. We ain’t got nothing,” she said. As Evers listened, she explained that she was out saving what she could, even 2×4’s, in order to save money on any rebuilding project.

For more photos, click here.

At stop after stop, they heard the frustration of residents who have been told that, so far, there is no state or federal aid on the way.

“To see this with your own two eyes is pretty powerful. People are really hurting, really struggling. That don’t have anywhere to lay their head at night, worried about their stuff, worried about their families,” Ingram said.  “We can go back to the capital and sell this in a more personable way that folks need help.”

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Evers agreed.

“I think the damage is devastating far beyond anything that we could have imagined when we heard about it Monday in Tallahassee. We learned a lot today from looking over it. We can actually take what we saw back to Tallahassee and make a difference, maybe release some money at the state level,” he said.

Ingram said that budget proposals are not yet final, giving the Northwest Florida Delegation time to attempt to put money for the Century area into the next budget.

“We definitely have to try to make a play to either reserve some funds from the affordable housing money,” he said. “It was good that we got to see this while we still had a little bit of a time window to act.”

For more photos, click here.

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The lawmakers signed a letter encouraging Gov. Rick Scott to declare a disaster area and make aid available (pictured above).

McCall said he was encouraged after the  tour.

“I feel relief. I feel like they have seen firsthand what we’ve got, and I feel like they can better tell the story when they get back (to Tallahassee). I am encouraged that the governor is going to hear about this, and he’ll hopefully  pay attention to what we have up here,” McCall said.

A federal disaster declaration from the White House would require documented losses of over $25 million in the county. The EF-3 tornado damage falls short, but  Evers announced that FEMA representatives will tour Century next week to determine if any exceptions could be made to that threshold to allow for federal help.

A large percentage of those suffering tornado damage do not have any insurance and live below the poverty level.

For more photos, click here.

Pictured top and bottom. Helen Mincy explains her tornado damage to Sen. Greg Evers. Pictured top inset: Evers and Rep. Clay Ingram (left) drag debris out of Front Street. Pictured middle inset: (l-r) County Administrator Jack Brown, Commissioner Steven Barry and Ingram discuss  aid options. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.



Comments

9 Responses to “Lawmakers Tour Tornado Damage; Offer Hope For State Aid, FEMA”

  1. Joseph Boutwell on February 21st, 2016 9:42 pm

    Its seems like an immediate solution is possible but this a long term fix. Takes a big commitment from all sources of aid. We have property in Pensacola still unusable from hurricanes. Make sure specific needs are publicized so people are aware and can respond.

  2. outside on February 21st, 2016 3:04 pm

    Hope, they realize that not all the damage homes where inside the city limits and will help ALL in north Escambia.

  3. Thoughts on February 21st, 2016 1:36 pm

    Even if more funds are available I don’t the government actually comes in and takes over and makes the decisions or repairs themselves do they? Can HUD counselor be made available for options, even if some can go to Pensacola while they regroup. The people are hurting and in shock and rebuilding will take time. If the historic district is to be saved careful planning and codes and such will have to be implemented. Rebuilding will be a marathon not a sprint. We can learn from other places who are rebuilding. It is a chance to make Century better and maybe for some people to relocate if they want to. Uttimately decisions will be made by each individual as to what they do and how they handle this. I hope you don’t feel alone but false hope is not helpful either

  4. William on February 21st, 2016 12:36 pm

    >>Hopefully they all took pictures to take back with them. A picture is worth a thousand words.

    There were a few taken. But the are going to use our NorthEscambia.com photos.

  5. mq on February 21st, 2016 11:46 am

    Hopefully they all took pictures to take back with them. A picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe now, some kind of financial help will be on the way.

  6. Poplar Dell on February 21st, 2016 8:46 am

    Thoughts and prayers to the town .

  7. ProudArmyPerant on February 21st, 2016 8:05 am

    Thank you Mr. Evers for stepping up to the plate and bringing a contigent of lawmakers to view our disaster. Thank you for showing you care by coming to see us first hand instead of getting a view of our disaster from a third party’s mouth.
    Mr. Scott you need to take a few lessons on the responsiblities of an elected official from Mr. Evers!
    All lives in the State of Florida matter!

  8. JJ on February 21st, 2016 7:56 am

    Thank you Clay & Greg. Next time y’all see that bafoon in Tallahassee, tell him to just stay away from our town, all together. We don’t need his pretentious attitude in these neck of the woods!

  9. Tammy Amison on February 21st, 2016 7:36 am

    I am so glad that they came up and saw for their own eyes the destruction it did. Hopefully they can get the town some help.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News