Tornado damage tops $1M

RUSSELLVILLE Franklin County EMA Director Mary Hallman-Glass said the total damage from the EF-2 tornado that swept through the county on Feb. 15 will top $1 million.

Hallman-Glass said the total damage from the tornado is just shy of $1 million. She said the estimated damage to roads, fiber networks and electrical lines throughout the county is between $150,000 and $200,000.

She said 30 households, along with some chicken houses, were damaged and two houses — one in Vina and one in Tharptown — were destroyed by the tornado.

She estimates the damage to homes and chicken houses to be between $500,000 and $700,000.

Hallman-Glass said wind gusts within the county reached as high as 60 mph on March 5 as another storm system moved through.

“We had a few trees down and power lines down, mostly to the east end of the county, and that’s all that has been reported to us,” she said.

Hallman-Glass said there also were reports of fires starting from blown electrical transformers or fallen powerlines causing them to arc and start fires.

Areas which saw more downed trees and powerlines were in communities like Tharptown, Waco and Phil Campbell — all of which are still picking up from the EF-2 tornado which came through those areas on Feb. 15.