Tornado cleanup efforts continuing

About two-and-a-half weeks after two tornados ripped through Alleghany, cleanup efforts are continuing in the Ennice community.

The larger of the two tornados, an EF2 that ripped a path across the northern end of the county 200 yards wide and five miles long, did the most extensive damage late on the night of May 8.

At a recent meeting of the Alleghany County Commission, Emergency Management Coor-dinator Gerald Leftwich said the storm's path was unusually wide. "Two hundred yards is a wide path, even for tornados out west," he said.

On Tuesday, he said the county is still awaiting word on any possible assistance funds from the state. "The damage assessment report is still being reviewed in Raleigh to determine if we will qualify for any state assistance," he commented.

Greg Atchley, the Emergency Management director for this region, did a damage assessment for the state.

The county commissioners agreed to handle the storm debris disposal for property owners on a case-by-case basis. The commissioners agreed to help those who were either uninsured or under-insured for the damage to their property. Debris were being delivered to the county's transfer facility beginning last week. Those disposing of storm-related debris must first contact County Manager Don Adams at 372-4179.

On Tuesday, Leftwich remarked, "Again, I would like to express my extreme gratitude to all the volunteer organizations and citizens that responded that night and in the early morning hours to aid and assist their fellow man in their time of need. I would like to express additional thanks to those who assisted DOT in promptly opening roads for emergency traffic." Leftwich said earlier that the volunteers had risked their lives that night and operated as professionals, although they are not paid for the jobs they do.

Leftwich noted the firemen were ready to respond and did a complete 'size up' of the situation in the dark the night of the storm. The area was divided into four quadrants and all of the homes and even outbuildings were checked for anyone that may have been injured by the next morning.

After the tornados, Leftwich was advising property owners to contact their insurance companies. Firemen were on the scene shortly after the storm passed through to place tarps on homes to prevent further damage from rainfall that came through right after the tornados.

Last week, Leftwich was was working to compile the number of man hours and the extra expense to the local departments that responded to the emergency. Leftwich said the damage was severe from the storm, but it could have been much worse. "Thank God it was not in a heavily populated part of the county," he said. "We witnessed history being made in Alleghany County during those eight minutes...."