Allegan County: Damage from storms is $2.2 million
NWS confirms 2 tornadoes in Allegan County on Thursday
The county's Emergency Operations Center put together the preliminary assessment to submit to the office of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who may decide whether to issue a state emergency or disaster declaration. If issued, a state or federal disaster declaration would open up access to resources for recovery. The county already declared a local state of emergency.
The EOC says it found $440,000 in direct expenses and damage to local government property that fall under Michigan State Police administrative rules for possible reimbursement.
Allegan County community reacts to state of emergency
The National Weather Service has confirmed two EF1 tornadoes touched down in Allegan County on the night of May 15. One was in the Martin area and the other was near the Sandy Pines campground.
As of Wednesday, the EOC said it was not aware of any federal financial assistance for businesses or residents with property damage. It advised people to contact their insurance company. Additional resources may be available by calling 211 or through the American Red Cross, which is reachable at 1.800.RED.CROSS (733.27677).
The tornado that marched through Martin sent trees crashing down, damaged some homes and knocked out power for days.
'Trees across the road,' street commissioner Rick Martin said. 'You couldn't go in or out of Martin at 11 p.m., 12 p.m.'
He estimated cleanup costs at $250,000 — but said it will end up being less than that because neighbors, people who grew up there, friends and family have stepped up. Neighbor David Cheeseman said he saw it firsthand.
'In the middle of the night, neighbors were out helping clean things up,' Cheeseman said. 'The whole town's been that way. I've always liked it here, but now I love it.'
Cheeseman planted a tree before he even closed on his Martin home 20 years ago. It has grown taller and taller as the years have passed and as he built a life there. Now, that special tree will soon come down after it was rocked by the tornado.
'It was 30 feet tall until Thursday night,' he said.
Cheeseman said the governor declaring a disaster and offering access to more resources for recovery could be helpful.
'There are people that are going to need help for sure,' he said.
While the street commissioner also said the extra help would be beneficial, he again praised his community.
'Any help that comes along, we're not going to turn it down by any means,' he said. 'But the community here has cleaned it up. You talk to anybody, it's family. It's just the way it is.'
Crews are trying to finish cleanup before Monday's annual Memorial Day parade through Martin, which includes veterans, the high school band and tractors. It's a priority for the village to keep the parade on.
'It's a goal of the (department of public works), the village of Martin to have this to make sure life goes on,' the street commissioner said.
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