NATCHEZ — Gov. Haley Barbour visited Natchez Friday and said he was shocked by the amount of damage in the area.

“I’m led to believe and I think it’s accurate that this is the worst damage by a natural disaster to happen to Natchez in a decade,” he said.

After touring areas on Melrose-Montebello Parkway and Glenwood Drive, he said he was amazed at how many homes had been damaged by fallen trees.

Barbour also said he was impressed by how the storm has been handled by city and county officials.

He gave special mention to Adams County Emergency Management Director Stan Owens, who he called well informed.

He said everything was handled well on the state level, too.

This was the first major test of emergency management the state has faced since Hurricane Katrina, he said.

But he said lessons were learned from that experience and were applied to this situation.

Some lessons can be learned from Gustav, though. He said after Katrina, he toured gas stations at the Gulf Coast, trying to figure out if any had generators.

He found out that none did. A year later, 30 gas stations had generators.

A lot of business was lost when the county lost power, bringing down the gas stations with them.

Barbour did give a nod to the utilities company for restoring so much power so soon.

“I do think utilities are working really hard,” he said.

He answered questions of city and county officials, while urging to get to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

He said it’s very important to get all the paperwork straight in getting federal aid, which he said he feels confident Adams County will receive.

“I am optimistic from what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard,” Barbour said.

Right now, it’s all about recovery and getting reimbursement funds is key.

Owens told the governor MEMA and FEMA’s damage assessment of the county showed that there are 33 miles of debris that needs to be cleaned up.

Adams County Sheriff Ronny Brown was curious to know how to handle cleaning up debris on private property.

Barbour reminded Brown that it is against the law to go on private property to clean up debris unless it is a life-threatening situation.

Adams County Board of Supervisors President Henry Watts was adamant in re-iterating that in no way can workers go on private property.

Property owners must clear their own debris and pull it to the street where it can then be picked up.

Public Works Director Eric Smith said his phone has been ringing off the hook for requests to clear debris but said his hands are tied by the law.

As far as cleaning debris off of public property, his crews are doing all they can do.

“Please be patient, we’re working as hard as we can,” he said.