Official: Recovery from March 2 twisters a community effort

Homepage

Related Photos

An Athens Utility worker surveyed damage after an EF-3 tornado struck this Nick Davis Road neighborhood on March 2. Without federal funding, homeowners were aided in their repair efforts by the Long-Term Recovery Committee, their neighbors and churches, or private insurance. News Courier file/Lora Scripps

Discussion

August 23, 2012

Official: Recovery from March 2 twisters a community effort

By Adam Smith adam@athensnews-courier.com The News Courier Thu Aug 23, 2012, 02:00 AM CDT

— Members of the Long-Term Recovery Committee of Limestone County said Tuesday they are no longer working on cases related to the March 2 tornadoes.

The group met at the Athens-Limestone United Way to share updates on residents helped following those storms and active cases from the April 27, 2011, tornadoes.

“As a community, we are more prepared and there’s a cooperative spirit of working together early so we can get people the help they need,” said Kaye Young McFarlen, director of the local United Way. “We have the (March 2 cases) completely done, and those were completed at the community level.”

Group members estimated that the community contributed $100,000 worth of supplies to repair homes damaged in the three tornadoes that hit parts of Athens and East Limestone on March 2. That amount, however, does not include the value of volunteer labor.

Uninsured residents who suffered property losses in the storms had to rely on churches and nonprofit groups like the LTRC after the storms because Limestone did not receive enough damage to qualify for federal funds.

Limestone would have had to receive $6.5 million in damages or had a high number of uninsured residents in storm-struck areas to qualify for federal disaster aid.

The group still has several active cases related to April 27, including the Harbin family that lost their home on Old Banford Street in an EF-5 tornado.

In an ironic twist, the family’s home came within only 100 yards of a large tornado during the 1974 outbreak.

Using a mix of the family’s own funds and local help from United Way and Habitat for Humanity, the family will soon see the completion of a new three-bedroom home capable of withstanding 225 mph winds.

HFH director Greg Miller said the home will be dedicated at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16.

The only work left to be done on the home, Miller said, is to complete some flooring and trim work, most of which is being performed by family members. A handicapped-accessible shower inside the home was also changed out recently after family patriarch Bobby Harbin suffered some health setbacks.

The new Harbin home will also represent the state’s 2,001st Habitat home, Miller said.

Laurie Lincoln with the Community Action Partnership presented several other cases of residents who are still seeking assistance following the April 27 outbreak.

Some of the cases ranged from simple home repair to another family in need of permanent shelter.

In February, CAPNA was awarded a grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency that allowed caseworkers to continue working on open cases related to last year’s disaster. In April the LTRC received a grant of $100,000 from the Alabama Tornado Relief Fund to assist with unmet needs.

On Tuesday, Jack Green of CAPNA announced the agency would serve as North Alabama’s applicant for an $11.5 million disaster assistance grant for those affected by the April 27 tornadoes. Individual cases can receive up to $25,000 for housing repair only and will be selected by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The funds, however, can only be used as a last resort and not in lieu of insurance or FEMA funds.

Green said more details about the grant would be announced next Tuesday.

Text Only

Homepage

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Official: Recovery from March 2 twisters a community effort

Does Limestone County's weather warning system need improvement?

Site Map

Contact Us