GREENFIELD, Iowa (WHO) – Governor Kim Reynolds toured several different communities around the state on Tuesday that were impacted by the last couple months of severe storms and tornadoes.
Harlan, Minden, Corning and Greenfield all held disaster recovery meetings with the governor. The meetings provided an opportunity for emergency management officials and locals to tell her what’s going well and what needs improved.
“We need, you know, insurance needs to, you know, make a decision, let people know, you know, where they stand with that, because that’s the first. That’s where it starts,” said Reynolds when asked what was voiced to her at the meetings. “And we have to have insurance weigh in, say what they’re going to cover if it’s totally damaged, whatever that may be. But we need them to give these homeowners an answer so that we can start, you know, backfilling with some of the FEMA funds and some of the other agencies that can help address some of that gap between, you know, the uninsured amount.”
Reynolds encouraged Iowans that were impacted by severe weather to get all the information needed for insurance submitted and pushed insurance companies to make a decision, as it acts as somewhat of a bottleneck for state and federal funds to make Iowans whole. She knows they are frustrated with some of the insurance issues going on. She said Iowans are also frustrated with FEMA as they feel as though it isn’t acting fast enough.
“I think it was impactful just to get everybody in the room to talk about what’s working, what’s not, where some of the roadblocks, how can we stack the funding, how can we get the information out to those that are impacted? Again, I’ve had FEMA with me all day,” said Reynolds. “I appreciate them being with us. You know, I understand there’s frustration with individuals because it just it can’t happen fast enough. And I get it. But there’s a process that we have to go through while still trying to streamline and get people the answers that they’re looking for. And so they’ve got to hear firsthand what some of those frustrations are.”
Adair County Emergency Management led the tour in Greenfield. Looking at the foundations and piles of debris that are left over from the storm just three weeks ago.
“We’re probably sitting around 30 homes that still need to be demolished. Um, and then I don’t know how many are in need of repair. I mean, there’s probably hundreds. Um, and then you got gas service lines, those kind of repairs that are still needing to be done, some electrical service lines and that kind of stuff too. So we’re working forward,” said Jeremy Cooper, the coordinator for Adair County Emergency Management.
Cooper said there will be a meeting on June 23 and he encourages those in Greenfield to attend at City Hall to get the latest information on how they can continue to push forward.
The county also wants volunteers to help with debris cleanup and other jobs that need to be done. Cooper encouraged those to come in off of Highway 25. There is a check in for volunteers to get their information and see how an individual is able to help the community.