Community aids tornado victims

FORT RECOVERY - An EF2 tornado packing wind speeds up to 115 mph was confirmed near Fort Recovery on Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

No injuries were reported but the tornado, considered strong on the six-tiered Enhanced Fujita Scale, left a trail of destruction as it made its way over a 5.7 mile path that was 200 yards wide at its maximum, damaging at least 10 homes and 30 agricultural outbuildings such as barns, shops and sheds, said Mike Robbins, director of Mercer County Emergency Agency.

"None were destroyed," Robbins said of the homes.

Damage to six of the homes was characterized as minor based on Federal Emergency Management Agency standards, meaning they had repairable, non-structural damage. For instance, a home missing half its roof could still be considered having minor damage as long as the rafters are intact, Robbins explained.

Four homes were determined to have been affected with mostly cosmetic damage.

Robbins did not have a total damage estimate but said it doesn't rise to a level where FEMA would offer financial assistance. Nor will it trigger a disaster declaration by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Robbins noted. At least 25 homes, businesses or other eligible institutions each must sustain uninsured losses of 40% or more of the estimated fair replacement value or pre-disaster fair market value of the damaged property for such a designation, per SBA's website.

Farm properties fall under the purview of United States Department of Agriculture, Robbins said, noting he's not sure if famers who suffered property damage would be eligible for financial assistance.

Robbins said cleanup efforts got underway on Friday and continued over the weekend.

"On Saturday I was out there. It was amazing. Most of the fields were already picked up. They were loading metal sheeting into dumpsters all over the place," he said. "Neighbors were helping neighbors."

The tornado started at 4:12 p.m. and ended at 4:25 p.m., per the preliminary weather service report. It wreaked havoc on homes and structures, tearing off roofs, toppling trees and utility poles and causing power outages up to Coldwater.

The first sign of tornado damage was observed just east of the stateline.

"The tornado then moved southeast, and may have briefly lifted, before touching back down and leaving a noticeable swirl in a wheat field between St. Joe Road and Wabash Road," the report states. 'The tornado intensified as it moved across Wabash Road, impacting the Fort Recovery Lumber Yard. Multiple roofs were completely lifted off several outbuildings."

The tornado then continued moving southeast through wooded areas
between Wabash Road and Fort Recovery-Minster Road, the report states. After crossing Fort Recovery-Minster Road, the tornado caused the partial removal of an outbuilding roof and damaged trees.

"More significant damage then became apparent as the tornado continued southeast impacting the Burrville Road/Hart Road area," the report states. "Multiple homes along Burrville Road sustained substantial roof damage including total removal of over half the roof of a single family home. The survey team also noted completely destroyed outbuildings, the removal of attached garages, substantial tree damage and projectiles embedded within an exterior wall."

Along Burrville Road, several wood power poles were completely broken, and debris was thrown roughly a half mile toward Wourms Road, the report notes. The most significant tree damage occurred at a wooded area along Wourms Road.

The damage inflicted near those two roads was consistent with low end EF2 damage and maximum winds of about 115 mph, the report states.

"The tornado seemed to rapidly weaken as it moved southeast to Fox Road and Meiring Road," the report continues. "The only damage seen was minor damage to an outbuilding and partial removal of the top of a silo. No additional damage was observed to the southeast of this area."

The report was compiled with assistance from Robbins and the Fort Recovery Fire Department.