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Fayette damage to top $2m

Tornado strike confirmed south of Fayetteville

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The storm system that ravaged Fayette County Wednesday night caused at least $2.19 million in damage, according to Capt. Pete Nelms of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

The National Weather Service has determined that a tornado did indeed strike Fayette, just south of Fayetteville in the Hilo Road area. Multiple homes in the Huntington South subdivision and along Merrydale Drive were struck by trees, and several roofs were covered by tarps until they can be fully repaired.

Keith Henry and his grandson Jeremy Henry were in their yard Friday morning, chopping up the numerous tree branches, large and small, that fell in their yard. Wednesday night, their family was huddled in the closet under the staircase when the tornado came.

Henry said he was puzzled why his dogs started howling, but it didn’t take long to figure out why.

“About 10 minutes later you heard the woooooo, and boy it came!” Henry said, adding that the tornado did sound like an approaching train.

In addition to the downed tree limbs and uprooted trees, the Henrys also had a leaky roof, which was a remnant from when Hurricane Opal came and the roof was patched instead of being replaced. The tornado also pushed some trees in his backyard and side yard, one of which was leaning over and could threaten his neighbor’s house.

At least no one was hurt in the storm, Henry said.

“I am thankful to God for that,” Henry said. “God protects you and everything happens for a reason.”

Henry, who works in customer service for Delta Airlines, said the tornado made him happy to have his “life, health and strength.”

A representative from the family’s insurance company, State Farm, had yet to come by late Friday morning, and that was chafing Henry some. He had gone by the downtown Fayetteville office of State Farm to notify them at 9 a.m. Thursday morning, and he followed up with several phone calls in the afternoon to no avail.

Henry noted he has been insured by the company since 1972, and this tornado and the hurricane Opal incident are the only two insurance claims he’s ever filed.

The county’s tax assessors office was going door-to-door through Friday morning, taking digital photos of damaged homes and filing reports that will be compiled and sent to state officials, Nelms said. That information will be used to determine if Fayette has enough uninsured homes damaged so it can qualify for federal disaster assistance, he added.

Nelms credited chief tax assessor Ellen Mills and her staff for their diligent work on the damage assessments.

“It’s an extremely valuable service for us,” Nelms said.

The $2.19 million figure, which is expected to rise some by the time all damage evaluations are made, includes damage to residential structures, commercial structures and utility structures, Nelms said. It also includes the overtime compiled by all emergency agencies in Fayette County, he added.

But if that figure gives you pause, consider that Henry County’s damage estimates start at $40 million and are likely to go higher, Nelms noted.