The mayor of the Gloucester County town devastated by a tornado met with President Joe Biden on Tuesday during the president’s visit to New Jersey.
Harrison Township Mayor Lou Manzo told Biden his residents’ stories and asked for help as clean up from the tornado is underway.
The Mullica Hill section of the town saw the brunt of the EF-3 tornado’s damage.
“Tactically, it’s more about the FEMA support and the funding. So that was already kind of in place. But what [the president] wanted to hear was the stories,” Manzo says. “For us, the miraculous fact that there was no loss of life. But the stories of families within seconds sheltering in their basement when their entire home came down on top of them and they were able to walk away unscathed.”
Manzo says that 38 homes were destroyed by the tornado, with another 100 damaged. Many of the residents spoke with FEMA on Wednesday, along with other residents of the county that were impacted by the storm.
“FEMA is going to want to see what your insurance company covers and after that, they’ll make a determination on what other help you may be entitled to,” says Ron Winward with the FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Team.
FEMA officials say that any Gloucester County resident impacted by the storm who hasn’t registered for assistance should do so proactively. This can be done at the Mullica Hill library, online on over the phone.
FEMA says it does not have a date yet for how long its team will be at the Gloucester County Library, but they plan to be there through next week.