An EF-2 tornado caused extensive damage in Holmes County, Mississippi in April 2010. Most homes in Holmes County are uninsured, with estimates that 80-90% of homes lack insurance. This has made damage assessments and recovery efforts more difficult. Unrepaired damage could lower property values and negatively impact the local tax base. Volunteers and emergency management agencies are working to help the many uninsured homeowners who sustained damage.

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Another big blow: Most Holmes homes uninsured The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi) May 10,
2010 Monday
Copyright 2010 The Clarion-Ledger
All Rights Reserved
The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi)
May 10, 2010 Monday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A1
LENGTH: 799 words
HEADLINE: Another big blow: Most Holmes homes uninsured
BYLINE: By, LaRaye Brown
BODY:
Thursday morning Jerry Garnett talked to contractors repairing tornado damage at his Pickens-Garnett
Road home.
A few miles away, Rosie Rule sat on her porch as volunteers secured a tarp over the damaged roof at
her Galilee Road home.
Garnett has insurance.
Rule does not.
More than two weeks after an April 24 tornado tore a multimillion-dollar swath of damage through
more than a dozen counties, little repair work has been done in Holmes, where state Insurance
Commissioner Mike Chaney says 80 to 90 percent of homes don't have insurance. That massive
tornado has been blamed for damaging around 130 homes in that county. About half of those were
destroyed.
Unrepaired homes and vacant lots have the potential to erase value from the county's land roll,
ultimately meaning a smaller tax base and less revenue, a blow to an already poor county that monthly
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boasts one of the state's highest unemployment rates.
"We're definitely depending on our (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and (Mississippi
Emergency Management Agency) to help us," said Larry Dennis, a Holmes County supervisor.
Holmes County Tax Assessor Mary McGee said she won't be able to estimate an effect on the county's
tax base until she gets exact numbers.
Having such a high number of uninsured properties has made it difficult to put a dollar estimate on
losses. Among the questions that remain unanswered are exactly how much of the damage is
agricultural or timber-related.
Meanwhile, insurance adjusters and representatives from MEMA and FEMA are continuing to assess
statewide damage. Totals are rising in the hardest-hit areas.
Between the April 24 and May 1 tornadoes, about $8.8 million in insurance claims have been paid out in
five counties - Attala, Choctaw, Holmes, Warren and Yazoo, Chaney said.
More than $535,000 of that was paid out in Holmes County, said Andy Case, consumer services
director for the state Insurance Department.
Some residents who had insurance are learning their policies were so limited that only outstanding
mortgages were covered. Their policies did not cover any of the contents.
Jacqueline Landfair hasn't talked to a contractor about fixing the roof and foundation damage to her
mobile home because she doesn't know what her policy will cover.
"There ain't no reason to talk to them if I ain't got no money to pay them," the 46-year-old said as she
looked toward the blue tarp that topped her home a few feet away from her beauty shop.
Her insurance adjuster arrived Monday, nine days after the damage was done, and she's still waiting to
hear what the company will cover. Once she knows what her insurer will cover, then officials with FEMA
- which also provides help for those who are underinsured - will be able to tell her what they can cover.
"It's probably going to come out of my pocket if FEMA doesn't cover it," Landfair said.
Also the lights were out for several days in her community, so she wasn't able to work.
"I ain't made no money, and they ain't giving me no money," she said.
Holmes County has many residents like Rule who say they simply can't afford insurance. So while
contractors are vying to fix insured homes, residents who lack coverage will have to wait until FEMA
decides what - if any - help it will provide.
Rule, 84, has lived in her wood-frame home since 1963. The former farm worker retired when she was
62 and lives on a fixed income. The widow relies on a brother and her niece for help.
So she was pleased when AmeriCorps volunteers showed up to tarp her roof.
By Friday afternoon, AmeriCorps had taken about 110 work requests at its Volunteer Reception Center
in Ebenezer, said Anna Sobotka, a volunteer with the St. Louis team.
Volunteers' help will be essential in Ebenezer, a community where few have insurance. In addition to
monetary donations, workers at the center say they need volunteers with heavy equipment who can

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help tear down badly damaged properties and get the debris to the road for pickup.
There will be plenty of housing debris to collect.
Down the street from Garnett's home lay the flattened remains of the wood frame house his brother,
J.C., called home.
With no insurance, J.C. Garnett doesn't know how he'll rebuild.
He's waiting on FEMA.
To comment on this story, call LaRaye Brown at (601) 961-7280.
assistance
Americorps volunteers
To get help from Holmes County's AmeriCorps' operations or to volunteer, call the Volunteer
Reception Center at (314) 420-9511. Workers at the center say they need volunteers with
heavy equipment who can help tear down badly damaged properties.
Footwear donated
At 11 a.m. today, 3,000 pairs of new shoes will be distributed to Holmes County residents
affected by the tornado. Donated by New Horizon International Church of Jackson, they will
be distributed at the Ebenezer Volunteer Fire Department on Mississippi 14.
LOAD-DATE: May 11, 2010
Source: News & Business > Individual Publications > C > The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi)
Terms: LaRaye & tornado & Holmes (Suggest Terms for My Search | Feedback on Your Search)
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Date/Time: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 10:39 PM EDT
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