JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The tornado on the southside was focused in a relatively small area- since the damage was limited, there is no large-scale recovery effort.
“Unfortunately, we are probably not going to be able to qualify for the FEMA support that we would normally get if it was a much larger disaster. The city would actually have to meet a certain threshold, as with the state. We’re probably not going to see that.” Says Steve Woodard, the director of emergency preparedness for the city of Jacksonville. he says as the recovery process begins, contractors have spent today stepping up to the plate.
Eric Grengs is the COO of Elo Roofing. He says his company spent the day making sure people had tarps and ways to remove water from their homes and businesses.
“A lot of phone calls, outreach, and then just maneuvering between materials and getting our crews and employees safely out to sites to reach out to the customers.”
He says many contractors are acting as an extra source of pro bono help as they try to rebuild.
“That’s a big piece of this. You get out initially and you were almost in your own sense a first responder and people don’t know how to even react to this situation, especially when water continues to fall into all their belongings in their personal items. It’s kind of gut-wrenching,” he says.
He adds for many contractors at this point it’s not about getting a new contract or winning a bid; it’s about helping the community.
“So I have a contractor it’s kind of our responsibility to assist in any way we can regardless of whether that turns into a business dealing or not.”
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