Tornado leaves renters without a home

Bridgeport, Connecticut (WTNH) - Federal officials are looking at the damage from the tornado that touched down in Bridgeport last week.

It ripped through the city damaging homes and buildings, toppling trees and creating all sorts of other damage.

Monday members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were in Bridgeport to see the devastation first hand. They also met with local leaders and other officials who have been dealing with the aftermath.

FEMA’s Fred Vanderschmidt explained, "They will be focusing on picking up data on determining what kind of damages you have, this is a preliminary damage assessment."

No one was hurt. But a lot of people were impacted by that tornado and are in need of some help.

Meantime the massive clean-up effort is proving to be a grueling one. Buildings are being demolished, but other apartment buildings are being condemned, which means renters have to relocate.

“My son's room just looks straight up into the sky,” Lashonda Davis of Bridgeport told News 8’s Erin Cox, There is no ceiling, no roof. The bricks from the chimney are all over his bed.

Davis used to call the apartment on Jane Street home. No the building has been condemned, meaning she can't go back.

So she went to the Cesar Batalla Elementary School asking the American Red Cross for vouchers to help feed her kids while they stay with relatives.

“To help me with the clothing for my children,” Davis said. “I wasn’t able to get them anything. You know, I don’t have the money to just come out of my pocket.”

Another apartment building on East Main Street lost a roof during the tornado and tenants say that until the building is officially condemned, they're having trouble getting help.

“Now I have to find a place for my wife and four children,” Edward Beardsley said. “And I’m not the only one here. There are other families that live in the building that have no where to go.”

The Park City is beginning to tear down buildings deemed dangerous due to tornado damage and the demolition list is likely to get longer.

Bridgeport officials are still prioritizing the city’s clean up operation working to secure streets and buildings before getting to other areas where tree branches are piling up.