SPANISHBURG, W.Va. — Cleanup work will continue into next week for residents in parts of Mercer and Raleigh counties where separate tornadoes hit last Tuesday.
The American Red Cross is working with community partners to have trees removed and homes repaired.
“There are a lot of trees down. The amount is really, really hard to describe,” said Red Cross Disaster Program Manager Elaine Chapman. “They’ve been working to get the roads cleared and the power back on.”
An EF-1 tornado hit between Spanishburg and Matoaka in Mercer County and an EF-2 twister wiped out hundreds of trees near the community of Odd in Raleigh County.
The Red Cross reports 30 homes were damaged and three were destroyed. Chapman said it’s amazing that more homes weren’t destroyed considering the number of trees that fell.
Chapman said removing the damaged trees will be a major task. She said a couple teams from outside the area are coming in to help.
The Red Cross is making sure basic needs are met for residents and those helping. Chapman said residents are dealing with the situation as best they can right now.
“People are frustrated. They are scared and confused, but they are out there working to get their houses cleared, to get the repairs done,” she said.
An EF-1 tornado has winds at 105 mph while an EF-2 clocks winds at 125 mph.