- The tornado that ripped through our Neighborhoods left damage that is still being cleaned up today.
- Six months after the storm, new assistance has arrived in Williamston, with FEMA and the Small Business Administration opening a Disaster Recovery Center.
- Video shows one resident continuing to clear trees Thursday after the forest between his home and I-96 was all but destroyed by the storm.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm your Neighborhood Reporter Colin Jankowski. The Tornado that ripped through our neighborhoods last August left damage that can still be seen today. And now, some assistance is coming to help those affected.
"It was devastating," Randy Rigdon said.
Randy Rigdon had just purchased his new house in Williamston when last year's tornado hit.
"I received a text from the neighbors saying 'Randy, you probably want to get here because my pole barn is on the ground,'" Randy said. "You know, it was absolutely shocking."
The forest that separated his property from I-96 has been all but entirely destroyed, with mangled limbs still being cleaned up six months later.
"For a long time it was just pondering, you know, what the heck are you we going to do," Randy said.
As cleanup continues on Randy's property and around the neighborhood, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, has opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Williamston.
Specialists from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration can help survivors apply for federal disaster assistance, upload documents, learn how to get their property disaster resistant and get questions answered in person.
"We really want to have this be someplace where can come and just discuss it," FEMA Media Relations Specialist Patrick Boland said. "They don't have to register, but they can come in and talk about what's happened, and we can find out if there's a way that we can assist them. Or if we can't, we'll have somebody else do that."
The deadline to apply for assistance is April 8, 2024. Additional recovery centers will be opening soon, and the hope is they provide a relief for several of our neighborhoods.
In Williamston, Randy, like many others in the neighborhood, will continue to pick up the pieces on his property as best as he can.
"There's a few of us that are in the same boat," Randy said. "But bottom line, committed to clearing the property, planting some trees, and hopefully in a few decades it'll be back somewhat."
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
