“My crews have been out three or four times just to make sure we match addresses to the degree of damage to just double and triple check to make sure that there is no way, shape or form do we qualify for the FEMA declaration,” Clements-Pitstick said.
She said the tornado damaged 109 homes, with seven being destroyed — meaning down to the foundation — 13 suffering major damage, 22 with minor damage and 67 being affected in any other way.
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The tornado, which had a path width of 500 yards, traveled 21.3 miles across eastern Clark County into Madison County starting at 4:52 a.m., reaching maximum wind speeds of 130 mph before lifting at 5:15 a.m. in a field near London, according to the National Weather Service. It caused minor injuries to three people.
Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt, whose neighborhood was affected by the tornado, said it’s important to note, although the tornado damage does not qualify for a disaster declaration, that does not negate the fact it was a natural disaster and affected several people.
Clements-Pitstick said in the aftermath of any disaster, the EMA looks at getting either individual funding for homeowners affected who are uninsured or underinsured or public assistance from the government. In this case, she said public assistance is more plausible, though it is unlikely cleanup will reach the $625,000 cost threshold to qualify.
Township officials whose communities were affected have been alerted to keep track of hours spent and equipment used in case the minimum threshold is met to allow the county to apply for public assistance, Clements-Pitstick said.
“It’s going to be a little far-fetched, but that option is still hanging out there, and we’ll just continue to work with each agency to kind of gather their numbers and make sure that we don’t reach that threshold,” Clements-Pitstick said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The county now has a Long Term Recovery Committee made up of the EMA, the local Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, the Nehemiah Foundation, Northeastern Local Schools District and United Way of Clark, Champaign and Madison Counties. The goal of the committee is to pair recovery resources with those in need to “ensure that even the most vulnerable in the community recover from the disaster,” according to the EMA.
The involved entities handle different recovery aspects, including disaster case management, donations management and volunteer management. Clements-Pitstick said that Jamie Scanlon of the Salvation Army is serving as case manager for tornado victims receiving aid.
A team will go door-to-door in the impacted community to ask residents if they would like assistance and what kind of help they need, Clements-Pitstick said.
First Energy has restored power to every house except three that it gave generators, and some that require intervention from the homeowner, Clements-Pitstick said.
Clements-Pitstick said several organizations have been helping with cleanup, including Masters of Disaster, American Regulators and Home Depot, which donated $1,000 of supplies.
Clements-Pitstick said community members have also been instrumental in helping those impacted, with about 100 people going to Mitchell Road — which saw some of the worst damage — to help clean up on Saturday.
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