Cleanup continues after storm lashes city
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
City Director Ken Wiles tried to hold back tears when he spoke about the support and care residents showed neighbors in the aftermath of the May 2 storm that claimed the life of a 15-year-old girl.
Wiles said he was listening to radio traffic on the scanner the morning of the storm and choked up to hear the show of support. He spoke during the directors' open comment session at the end of the city board meeting Tuesday night.
"I consider myself to be greatly blessed to be in this town," Wiles said.
Residents and city officials continue to clean up and assess the storm's damage.
The National Weather service of Tulsa determined the storm did not produce a tornado in Siloam Springs but 60 to 70 mph straight-line winds, said Ed Calianese, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. The weather service sent a crew to investigate the damage Friday.
The damage was caused by strong winds and not a tornado because some things were blown down, but next to them, were things that were left untouched, Calianese said.
"Obviously it's been a busy week," City Administrator David Cameron said.
Officials of Federal Emergency Management Agency and Benton County Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security toured Siloam Springs on Thursday to evaluate the damage to homes.
Six homes received "considerable damage "because of the storm, said Marshal Watson, director of the Benton County Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Numerous homes received minor damage.
Federal money could be sent to the city if the county qualifies for government aid, which is separate from individual aid, Watson said. To qualify, uninsured homes and structures would have to receive $ 500, 000 or more damage. The majority of structures that were hit in Siloam Springs were insured, Watson said. Because of this, it's unlikely the city will meet the threshold for this funding.
About 20 customers remain without power because electric breaker boxes and wiring to the home were damaged or destroyed and must be repaired by an electrician before electric department employees can reconnect them, Farine said. Nearly 20 poles, six transformers, 80 to 100 service lines and numerous primary lines were lost in the storm, he said. "I expect it will take a week or more to get everything back to normal operations," Farine said. "I can't say enough about how proud I am of the line crews working this storm. They all stepped up to the magnitude of the storm and gave all they could."
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