NATCHEZ — Forty-four houses in Adams County sustained major damage, 73 roads and four bridges were damaged and there are 33 miles worth of debris to be cleaned up.

Approximately 600 insurance claims have already been made by residents.

These are the numbers given in a preliminary report by FEMA and MEMA disaster assessment teams that toured the city and county Thursday.

Adams County Emergency Management Director Stan Owens said the assessment teams only toured one third of the county.

“It’s very possible that you could multiply (those numbers) by 3,” he said.

It was assessed that the southern part of Adams County was hit with the worst of the storm, Owens said.

A monetary amount of damage has yet to be established, but Owens said he believes it will be in the millions.

Now that the area has been assessed, MEMA will compile the reports then send it through FEMA to the president.

Owens said the county is waiting on the presidential declaration of a disaster area before any federal assistance can be given.

Owens said he feels confident the county will get assistance.

If granted, it will be only public assistance, making it only applicable to the county.

The monies would go toward reimbursement for preparing for the storm, cleaning up, employee overtime and other expenses incurred from the storm and the damages.

Owens said the federal money coming down through public assistance does not go to citizens.

“Homeowners, if they have damage, they need to contact their insurance companies,” he said. “If federal assistance is forthcoming, the processes to apply will be announced later.”

Owens said he’s received numerous calls from people wanting to know when they can get federal money.

“At this time, people are wasting valuable time asking about their FEMA/MEMA check,” he said.

He also wanted residents to know that FEMA or MEMA will not reimburse for any loss of food during the storm, like items that may have gone bad in refrigerators or freezers.