PORTAGE, Mich. — Gregg and Carole Nelson were on their way to get a chainsaw when 13 ON YOUR SIDE spoke with them Monday afternoon at their Portage home.
Nearly a week after multiple tornadoes hit communities hard in Southwest Michigan, federal officials are set to visit the area including the Nelsons' city of Portage to determine the need for federal assistance to help those in need.
"There are people that really are suffering and our hearts go out to them," said Carole.
The couple, who said they've lived in Michigan for over 20 years and also lived in Nebraska for nearly two decades, recounted what it was like to be in their home's basement when the tornadoes touched down.
"About a minute [after moving to the basement], the tops of the trees were twirling around, as we saw from our window in the basement, and we thought that this was something that was very serious," Carole said. "Then, we went into the furnace room and sheltered there and heard a whoosh."
The couple then described how, when they emerged from the basement, they’d never seen anything like it.
"The first things that he said was 'This is really bad,' because he looked out the window," Carole said. "So, it was just like nothing we've ever seen."
While much of their neighborhood suffered heavy damage, the Nelsons' home thankfully didn’t suffer much.
Still, they say they’ve been involved in helping the neighborhood sift through the wreckage.
"Nerves are a little bit frayed, I think, in general," Carole said. "But for us, we didn't have that much clean if we need to do we're helping out some neighbors to on an as needed basis.>
For people like those in the Nelsons' neighborhood and elsewhere in need, Governor Gretchen Whitmer last week declared a state of emergency in the area in an effort to move resources more quickly.
But what’s remained an open question is whether federal assistance is on its way to help bring these people relief.
"We can put in a request; once there's been an assessment, we can put some figures to the request. And so, that's why the work of all the people that are here that are trying to take an account of all the different damage that's happened is so important right now," Whitmer said last week as she toured some of the storm damage at Kalamazoo's Pavilion Estates. "But until we have that, I can't submit anything to the federal government and that's why we're trying to kind of try to move fast here."
Local authorities have moved to seemingly make quick progress on that.
On Monday, Kalamazoo County Emergency Management shared an update on the preliminary numbers of their surveys that they intend to submit the state, which will, in turn, submit them to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The damage, the county's emergency manager explained, was split into four categories: structures that were destroyed, suffered major damage, suffered minor damage, or were affected.
"We had a total of 60 destroyed structures," Kalamazoo County Emergency Manager Mike Corfman said. "And those consisted of 25 single-family homes, eight multifamily buildings, 24 mobile homes and three business structures."
"We had 129 major damage, and that major damage is either it's going to require extensive repair to get it to back to where the way it was, or they may have to tear it down," Corfman continued. "So, that's real critical there, and a total of 129. So, that was 80 single-family homes, 11 multifamily buildings, 27 mobile homes, and 10 business structures - which had multiple tenants - and one nonprofit organization structure, which was a church building."
"Then, we had over 400 - and this still to be determined - as far as minor damage or just affected structures," Corfman said.
On top of local counties' counts, FEMA is also set to visit the area this week to make joint assessments at the state’s request and help the state decide whether to seek federal aid.
A number of factors, a FEMA representative told 13 ON YOUR SIDE, are to be considered.
"We're looking at whether or not people have insurance, we're looking at the extent of damage, we're looking at the impact to the communities, we're looking at what the needs are, we're looking at how many homes were damaged, we're looking at impact infrastructure, we're looking at personal property losses," said Dan Shulman, who serves as the external affairs specialist for FEMA's Region 5 based out of Chicago.
Back in Portage, the Nelsons believe there may be need for more guidance and financial assistance to help deal with wreckage on parts of private property where shared wooded areas suffered tree damage.
Another neighbor said they're hoping for more assistance in moving away debris that residents had gathered on the side of the road, as to not be reminded each day of what had happened as they continued their cleanup efforts.
But until that may come, their neighborhood leans on each other to get through the circumstances.
"Some people would drive past and offer you a cookie and something to drink and so forth," Gregg said. "It was really nice. So, it's a great area. So, good, good kind of people."
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