700 Homes Counted Destroyed By Tornadoes

Reports from tornado-ravaged states yesterday indicated that the number of destroyed homes may reach or exceed 700.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reported that a total of 483 homes were destroyed, while in Arkansas the twisters took out 200 hundred homes, and 10 counties were declared state disaster areas.

In all states, information was incomplete and catastrophe modeling agencies had no immediate assessments of insured damage.

Buddy Rogers, a spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, said, “At this point are numbers are only partial. We know this is going to increase.”

Of only 10 counties reporting, he said 118 homes were reported damaged–20 of them classified as destroyed. Commercial damage reports are also incomplete, but he said he had heard that 20 buildings were damaged in one area alone in a section of Brandenburg in Mead County.

In Alabama, authorities reported that in Jackson County there was severe structural damage to houses, with roofs missing in 60 percent of homes.

At the Pilgrims Pride breeder farm, with 43,000 birds on the premises, there was severe damage reported to all four houses where birds were kept. At another chicken farm, a burial permit was issued for approximately 21,000 birds.

Arkansas reported 50 businesses had damages of varying degrees in Baxter County, and no service stations or restaurants were able to operate in the area.

American Insurance Association President Marc Racicot issued a statement assuring tornado victims that the insurance industry would be focused on a quick response in assessing the damage and paying policyholder claims.

“The wounds left by tornadoes of this magnitude are difficult to fully heal, but our industry is committed to a rapid and focused response to these tragic storms,” he said.

“Prompt dispatch of resources from insurers is an important part of the recovery process, and our companies are committed to getting policy holders back on their feet,” he added.

He noted that by Wednesday, several AIA member companies had already announced the claims process had begun, and that special mobile claims buses had been deployed directly to affected communities.

“Having sent mobile units into devastated neighborhoods, insurers have established immediate lines of aid and a strong presence in the wake of these disastrous tornadoes,” said Mr. Racicot.

He said Tennessee Insurance Commissioner Leslie Newman and the Tennessee Department of Insurance was making efforts to help Tennesseans get the information they need to work with insurers effectively.