Federal disaster relief on its way for local tornado victims

May 08--GREENSBORO -- On Tuesday, tornado victims finally received the news they'd been desperately wanting to hear: President Donald Trump cleared the way for federal funds to reach them.

The president approved a major disaster declaration for North Carolina, freeing an array of federal grants and loans for homeowners, renters, businesses and others affected by the tornado. Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are expected to come to the area by the end of the week.

"It's encouraging that FEMA is going to be involved," said City Council member Sharon Hightower, who represents the part of Greensboro most affected. "It says to us that this disaster was really at a high level."

Assistance programs are designed to help homeowners, renters, businesses and some people who lost their jobs as a result of the tornado. Others may want crisis counseling or help filing their taxes to account for losses.

"That's wonderful, wonderful news that the government finally heard our cries and our pleas," said Eastwood Avenue resident Tiffany Garner-Noble, whose rental home and cars were damaged in the tornado.

The fast-moving storm caught hundreds by surprise late on a Sunday afternoon in mid-April and before they knew it, the tornado had left a 33-mile path of destruction. With winds that reached 135 mph, the twister cut a jagged 1,000-foot-wide track on the city's east side that stretched 16 miles. It went another 17 miles into Rockingham County.

The scope of the damage was sobering: 1,007 structures, from single-family homes to businesses, suffered varying degrees of damage -- 37 of them destroyed.

Since then, a burning question for those affected is if the federal government would be able to help.

They finally got their answer Tuesday.

"Anything that will help put people back in their homes quicker is a good thing," Mayor Nancy Vaughan said.

U.S. Rep. Mark Walker (R-Greensboro) claimed some of the credit for the timing of Trump's declaration. In a statement his office released Tuesday, he noted that it followed a recent visit to east Greensboro by Vice President Mike Pence, who attended a fundraiser for Walker's re-election campaign five days after the tornado struck.

"When the vice president was here, he promised the full support of the federal government, and with this declaration by FEMA, we have received it," Walker said.

Vaughan said the news will come as a relief to hundreds of residents who have been waiting for some kind of assistance with home repair and other expenses their insurance may not cover.

"On a daily basis since this happened, we've all been speaking with people who are interested in our qualifying for FEMA and how this would help them," Vaughan said. "There are people who have been waiting on pins and needles."

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