The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Greenfield, where at least 150 homes were heavily damaged or destroyed in last week’s tornado.
FEMA spokesman John Mills spoke with Radio Iowa from the center, which is located in Greenfield’s City Hall. “It opened at 1 p.m. on Sunday and people were waiting in the lobby,” Mills said. “We’ve had a steady stream of people coming in. They’re sitting down with FEMA and going through the application process for federal assistance.”
Mills visited with some of the people who were at the site this afternoon “Many of them are covered by insurance. I did meet some folks who did not have any insurance at all,” Mills said. “We’re going to work with people on a case by case basis, to help them get some assistance.”
Tuesday’s tornado cut a mile long path through Greenfield, plus a spin-off tornado struck other areas of Adair County. Mills said 14 FEMA staffers are going door to door, canvasing neighborhoods in Greenfield and going to other locations where storm victims are getting help.
“For example, FEMA has a team set up at the St. John’s Catholic Church in Greenfield, which is being used by a variety of non-profit organizations to provide free hot meals,” Mills said. “FEMA was invited by local emergency management to set up a table in the parking lot, so we’re also meeting survivors there and helping them register for assistance at that location.”
FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Center in Greenfield will be open every day of the week, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. “until further notice,” according to a news release. That includes tomorrow, Memorial Day.
FEMA opened two Disaster Recovery Centers in Minden and Harlan last week to help residents affected by the severe weather that struck April 26. Those FEMA sites in Pottawattamie and Shelby Counties will be closed Monday, but will reopen Tuesday morning.
A fourth temporary FEMA office opened at the United Presbyterian Church in Mount Ayr on Saturday to assist Ringgold County residents with damage from last month’s storm. It will be open Monday and Tuesday. FEMA will then set up at the Union County Emergency Management in Creston from Wednesday through Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, June 1, FEMA will open a temporary Disaster Recovery Center in Osceola at the Clarke County Annex Building. It will operate through Wednesday, June 5.