Moss Point citizens looking for answers on rebuild

Tragedy struck Moss Point a month ago when an EF-2 tornado swept through the area. Now, officials and citizens alike are banding together to pick up the pieces.

“We’ve been asked to give them a week to two weeks at the most to validate those numbers, and we think that within a couple of weeks we’ll know whether or not those numbers reached that threshold, and we have all the confidence that it would.”

Nearly a month after an EF-2 tornado swept through the Moss Point area citizens are still searching for answers as officials have come in and assessed the damage. Moss Point resident Gladys Douglas said, “Y’all put two counties together to come up with what y’all came up with. How many more counties are you going to put together? How much longer do we have to wait?”

Patience is running thin in Moss Point as residents still await much-needed federal assistance from FEMA with only five out of 60 households having homeowners insurance that were destroyed or sustained major damage.

On July 14th, the city coming up short of the $5.2 million damage threshold at $4.1 million in part due to home depreciation in the area. “Maybe they need to step the little threshold up or something on the value of people’s houses. I don’t know what they need to do, but something needs to be done.”

Moss Point resident Mary Odom said, “A long recovery process, a long waiting on the insurance, and I’m still waiting so the parents are having to place their children other places because I’m still waiting just to see what’s going to happen.”

Mary Odom has been the owner of Mary’s Little Lambs Daycare and Preschool in Moss Point for the last 28 years.

She says she still hasn’t been able to make repairs and that mold and mildew currently make it unsanitary for use. “It’s been an emotional time, even the children, those that have come by here, those that have graduated from Mary’s Little Lambs, the alumni, and they’re teary. They’re even saddened about the tornado and the damages to the daycare.”

It’s not just the cost of repairs, tornado victims like Gladys Douglas are coming out of pocket, just to keep a roof over her head at nearby hotels. “Even the shelter up there is closed. You think people just really got over everything that fast – no. Some of these people still don’t have nowhere to stay. A lot of people. I’m one of them!”

Jackson County Chamber of Commerce CEO Paige Roberts was one of the first to lead the charge for those in need and explains the path forward for the City of Moss Point. “The long-term recovery committee needs to hear the cases that the case managers with the Catholic Charities group and American Red Cross bring to the table. This family still has XYZ needs and then the people around the table as they can meet those needs and then whatever is left over unmet then we go to the rebuild Moss Point fund the fund of last resort to see how we can get those unmet needs met.”

At the end of the day, everyone in Moss Point is working towards the same end goal. Moss Point Mayor Billy Knight stresses his ongoing commitment to his city and its people. “People are frustrated. Some people are depressed about their situation. I certainly understand that. To some degree, I’m depressed about it because I feel for our people. But at the same time, I’m hopeful and I’m going to work to make us bigger and better on the other side.”