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The Harrison County Emergency Management Agency is working to assess damage caused by a tornado that tore through New Athens last month.
Preliminary assessments have determined that nearly two dozen homes sustained damage in the stormJuly 29.County EMA Director Eric Wilson said assessments began Monday and will continue until a total assessment is compiled. So far, the assessment has determined there was one case of minor home damage, one case of major home damage and 19 homes affected, he said.
The scale assessment is one that the Federal EMA uses to classify damages to properties. Wilson said "affected" means a residence has cosmetic damage only that does not affect the habitability; "minor damage" means a residence includes a wide range of damage that does not affect structural integrity; and "major damage" means the residence has sustained significant damage and requires extensive repairs.
"That's where my damage assessment comes in. I'm identifying structures, residences, businesses that were affected. We have to find out if they had insurance or no insurance," he said. "This is the first step in what we call the recovery process."
The "major damage" residence is a house on Culbertson Drive that sustained severe damage in the storm that left the couple displaced. Large portions of the roof of the home were torn from the structure. Wilson said the Red Cross was called in and provided the family with temporary lodging. He said the couple remains in a hotel while the damage to the home is assessed by a structural engineer.
Although local officials were able to handle the initial response and damages caused by the tornado, Wilson said they are hoping to obtain financial assistance through FEMA for whatever damage is not covered by private insurers.
"A lot of times that is roads, infrastructure, culverts, bridges and things of that nature," he added.
In addition to property damages, Wilson said the village and municipalities may also be eligible for reimbursement for expenses such as wages for employees who helped in the cleanup process.
"For example, if there was someone from the street department who cut down trees off the road and had four hours of overtime because of the storm, that would be an eligible cost because it was directly related to recovering from the storm," he said.
There is no guarantee that anyone will receive funding, Wilson said. He said they must provide adequate financial losses to be eligible to qualify.
"I don't know if we're going to do that but the more damage that I can capture, the closer we get to meeting that threshold," he added.
An estimated cost of the damage caused by the tornado is not yet available, he said.
Wilson urges residents who have not reached out to contact the county EMA at 740-942-3922 to report any property damage caused by the tornado.
"I'll come out and assign a category to them and add them to the list. We don't want to miss anybody," he said.
According to a public information statement by the National Weather Service, the tornado is estimated to have taken place between 4:50 and 5 p.m. July 29 just west of the village. It traveled along Ohio 9, Main Street, then made a left toward Culbertson Drive where most of the notable damage occurred. The path continued down the hill from McFarland Road along Ohio 519 where trees and power lines were snapped. There was also damage reported on the south side of Ohio 519 where a grove of trees was snapped or uprooted. The twister has been classified as an EF 2 on the Fujita Scale, which rates tornadoes on a scale between zero and five based on numerous damage indicators and wind speeds. The tornado is estimated to have had wind speeds of 115-120 mph and a path length of 2.7 miles.
A second tornado was confirmed in Wintersville the same evening at around 5:45 p.m. That tornado has been classified as an EF 1 with a maximum wind speed of 95 mph. It is reported to have begun near U.S. 22 northwest of Wintersville and traveled through the west side of the village, causing damage to numerous homes.
No injuries or fatalities resulted from either incident.