City of Bamberg gets a helping hand from community members, as cleanup process begins following EF-2 Tornado
BAMBERG, SC. (WJBF) – It’s now been almost 3 weeks since the EF-2 tornado hit the small town, but Bamberg is starting to move in the right direction.
But those who work there are still in shock. Brian Hefner is the VP of Member Services at Edisto Electric Cooperative.
“A lot of us were here that day and saw the devastation, and the tornado going through. It actually went right beside our office,” said Hefner.
Edisto Electric might have dodged a bullet as the majority of the damage was concentrated in the downtown area.
But according to SCEMD, they have accounted for 20-30 Bamberg businesses damaged by the storm, including 10 completely destroyed.
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Some of those destroyed include South Carolina Oak to Barrel, the historic Old City Hall, area restaurants, and several store fronts.
Officials invited several community members to pick up trash and debris around the city, in an effort to “Keep Bamberg Beautiful”.
Edisto Electric Co-Op, Saltcatcher Farms, the Bamberg Board of Public Works, and city council members were among those volunteering.
The student government from Denmark Technical College were also helping out, and group leaders say it’s an honor to give back to the community that has done so much for them.
“It means a lot. It means truly immensely to help out a community, because they pour so much into us and help us as well. So it’s nice to be giving back to the ones who help you,” said Jonta Parson.
“A lot of our employees who work for us at Edisto Electric Cooperative live in the community. So to give back to the town of Bamberg — and to help this community out — it’s a sense of pride. It’s a sense of being together and pulling through,” said Hefner.
Other volunteers like Keith Patrick came from Orangeburg to pitch in. He says he’s glad to be part of an effort to move Bamberg in the right direction.
“We designed our organization to give back to communities, not just Orangeburg, but existing communities in the area around. So when we get invitations like this to come out – whether it be parades, or clean up crews, this and that – we jump to it, we come out and do what we can do,” said Patrick.
Though the cleanup has begun, the city is not out of the woods yet.
Earlier this week, Bamberg County Council held a special meeting, voting unanimously to approve an Emergency Declaration.
City leaders say they are still waiting on everyone to file insurance claims, that way they can report any damages suffered.
The deadline to file those claims is February 8th.
A total cost of the damages will be collected from those claims, and that will determine if the city will qualify for federal funding.
In the meantime, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has come to the city over the last few days to make their own assessments on the damage.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation has cleared the lane on Main Highway, but will need to return to clear the remainder of the bricks from the destroyed buildings.
We will continue to follow this story, and bring you new developments as they come.
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