29-05-2025
Missouri counties denied state aid for tornado damage
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Mo. — Tornado victims in southwestern Missouri will not get extra help from the state after a cluster of tornadoes hit the area last week.
Residents in St. Clair, Henry and Benton counties have learned that they will not be receiving any state assistance in wake of the May 19 tornadoes.
It's another setback for communities trying to clean up the mess left behind.
The Henry County, Missouri, Office of Emergency Management said the counties will not be able to apply for state funding—for cleanup, repairs or financial help.
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According to emergency management, one of the reasons state assistance was denied is because many of the homes in the counties were 'second homes' – which don't quality to be included in assessments.
'We have been on the phone all morning with area agencies to find more resources, financial aid and labor to help our citizens in our communities recover,' Henry County Emergency Management said on Thursday.
'We are very encouraged with what we have found thus far and will be sharing more information as the day goes on. We are not giving up making sure the citizens of our county to get all the help we can possibly find.'
The Iconium Fire Protection District in St. Clair County posted on social media that they are looking for volunteers on Friday and Saturday to help people in the area whose neighborhoods were devastated by last week's tornadoes.
'We need dump trucks, dump trailers and wood chipper operators to grind up and haul off wood chips,' the fire department said.
According to the fire department, dozens of branches and trees are piled up in yards in the Fox Run and Richochet Ridge subdivisions off Highway ZZ between Truman Lake and the St. Clair County-Henry County line.
'The Iconium Fire Department will pay to rent a wood chipper,' the fire department said. 'But we need people who can spend a day feeding the chipper and others who can bring trailers and trucks to accept the chips and haul them away, probably to the yard next to our Station 3, about a mile from those subdivisions.'
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The fire department is asking anyone who has the time or equipment to help to call Fire Chief David Price at 417-309-0078. It estimates the cost will be around $2,000.
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