Cleanup efforts continue in Wynne with federal resources in town

WYNNE, Ark. (KAIT) - After the March 31 tornado, the support for the people of Wynne was unmatched, but as time goes by, the number of volunteers begins to dwindle.

The slowdown comes during one of the most important parts of the cleanup.

Wynne Mayor Jennifer Hobbs stressed they are so thankful for all the help and understands why people can’t volunteer as much.

“We had a lot of boots on the ground, and we have seen that fade because people must go back to their jobs, we had lots of cities that volunteered equipment and things but then they have to get back and take care of their own communities,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs stressed that the next couple of weeks are so important because of finical opportunities they want to take advantage of.

“We have a window where FEMA will cover more of those expenses, so we are trying to get as much done while we are in that window,” Hobbs said.

Because of the disaster declaration, FEMA will cover 100% of the cleanup expenses when it is usually a 75% to 25% breakdown where the city effect has to pay a little money.

Hobbs said right now the most important thing is getting rid of all the debris to help get them to the next steps.

“We are still in that cleanup phase, let’s get the debris moved off the property so we can get clean lots so we can start that rebuilding face,” Hobbs said.

FEMA said the biggest need at the moment is housing, saying right now there are still a lot of people that don’t have a place to call home.

For a list of resources available to those impacted by these storms, just follow this link.

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