Olive Branch, MS—
FAST FACTS:
- Tornado Causes Heavy Damage in South Olive Branch Subdivision
- Six Homes Destroyed, One Hundred Ten Damaged
- Most Insured to Extent, Aid Unnecessary
dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Olive Branch, MS 8/3/2009) Folks in Olive Branch are still shaking their heads in disbelief that they could get hit by tornados twice in just the space of a couple of months.
This time, the damage was more serious.
Last Thursday's tornado scattered serious damage throughout an entire section of town, and we've learned it's unlikely the state will step in with much, or any help.
Why's That? The short answer is that insurance will handle the cost of repair and rebuilding, so folks in Olive Branch may have no need for state or federal help.
With more than seventy percent of his home gone, Darren Curtis and his friends spent the day trying to decide what was worth saving, "We are displaced at this time but we are thankful to God for all his blessings that he spared our lives."
His family took cover in a downstairs bedroom, as Curtis became trapped under the living room couch, as the house disintegrated around them.
Today they took stock of buckled walls, broken glass and missing possessions as they salvaged what they could. "It looks like it's gonna be a total loss here." he sighed.
Across this neighborhood other families did the same. Some had more work than others. One hundred ten suffered heavy damage, six were a total loss.
Restoration companies can do a lot for homes with window and roof damage. Not so for homes with more serious damage just a few feet away like the Curtis house.
Normally we hear of state and federal aid money flooding into places like this to help with recovery, but experts say it's unlikely people here will see much, if anything. "Out of all the homes that were hit, most of 'em had adequate insurance which actually when that happens it cuts back the amount of money we receive from the state from MEMA." said Bobby Storey, who heads DeSoto County's Emergency Management Department.
It's something that Governor Haley Barbour brags about actually, that Mississippi and Mississippians take care of themselves without much need for outside help.
Insurance companies flooded in where state and federal aid often does, and apparently those companies will shoulder the cost of rebuilding.
And Darren Curtis says he will rebuild, "We love our neighbors, we love our neighborhood we love our community and we invested so much into this and my wife and I wanna see things back to the way they were."
He expects that will take six months to a year. In the meantime, he and others like him are staying with family members, as they make arrangements to find temporary housing.
In fact, I'm told that in this, and the previous Olive Branch storm, not one person took advantage of the shelter, local officials opened up.
