After the storm: Celina residents must decide what to do next

Lima News (OH)

June 02-- Jun. 2--CELINA

Residents here are still processing the damage wrought on Memorial Day, when an EF3 tornado ripped through residential areas, killing one, injuring seven and destroying dozens of homes.

Survivors are now asking: Is rebuilding worth it?

That question will intensify as survivors learn whether insurance will cover their losses and whether they qualify for disaster assistance. In the interim, those displaced by the storms are in search of short- and longer-term housing.

But for Ashley and Keyton Eberle, whose rural Celina home was deemed unsafe, there hasn't been much time to think since the storm passed. The couple, who have three young children, have been busy clearing debris from their property and salvaging whatever belongings they could find. Now that they've cleaned out their home, finding long-term housing is a top priority.

"We don't really know if we should jump on the first thing we find, because there's so many families in need right now," Keyton said. "(But) then again, do I be picky? I haven't had a chance to sit down and figure that out fully yet."

The Eberles have already invested a significant portion of their disposable income into remodeling the home, which they rent with the intent to own.

Now, they're not sure what to do.

Deb Baucher is wrestling with the same dilemma as she considers whether to rebuild her Wheatland Acres home, which she purchased about one year ago as her retirement home.

"You see it on TV and stuff, but until it's actually your house and you're in the middle of it, you just can't imagine the pieces that come," Baucher said.

"It's like, what can actually go into storage for six months or eight months? You don't know how long it's going to take to be livable again," she said. "Now, you've gotten over not being hurt and everything, and you're thinking about the practical part -- where does my stuff go?"

Assessing the damage

State officials have requested a preliminary Federal Emergency Management Agency damage assessment in Mercer and nine other counties affected by the storms to determine whether the state will qualify for disaster assistance.

But the process is complex. The Ohio Emergency Management Agency on Thursday told reporters that a key factor determining whether the state qualifies for FEMA assistance will be assessing how much of the damage is already covered by insurance, which typically covers wind damage.

More than 40 homes in Celina were severely damaged by the EF3 tornado, which touched down around 10 p.m. Monday and ripped through 6.6 miles of residential areas and farmland. It was one of 21 tornadoes reported in Ohio on Memorial Day.

Most of the damage in Celina was concentrated along Fairground Road, where dozens of homes were destroyed, and within the Wheatland Acres and Bruns neighborhoods. But the tornado traveled across U.S. 127, traveling through farmland and damaging several more homes.

Celina Mayor Jeff Hazel described the city as a "war zone," with uprooted trees, downed powerlines, shingles and insulation strewn across residential areas. Many homes in the affected area no longer had a roof, while others appeared intact but were still deemed unsafe. One home was even lifted off its foundation and thrown into a nearby field, according to the National Weather Service.

The path of the tornado, which leveled some homes but barely touched others, is a hard thing for survivors to consider.

The Eberles struggle with that question, as their home is one of the only properties east of U.S. 127 touched by the tornado.

"This is our little slice of heaven," Ashley said.

Just one day prior to the storm, she and her daughter had been sitting on a porch swing out back, enjoying the first days of summer. The porch swing is now gone, as is the family's garage and pool. A large pile of furniture and unsalvageable belongings sits at the edge of their driveway. Glass and debris from the storm still litter the ground as the couple wait for a church crew to help clean their property.

"It's crazy that you can go from that to this," she said.

Fear of the next storm

Residents here had ample warning that a storm was approaching, but many survivors say they were still surprised by the event.

Deb Baucher was with at home with her siblings when the tornado touched down. The family made their way down to the basement to wait out the storm, but it didn't seem like much time passed before the tornado hit their home.

"This horrendous kaboom just echoed through, and the whole house was shaking," Baucher said.

"I don't think you ever forget that sound," Ashley said. She and her husband, Keyton, tried to console their children as the storm passed, thinking it wouldn't touch their home. When it did, Ashley said it felt as though the house swelled up and lifted off the ground before dropping back down and sinking in.

Now the two worry how their children will process the trauma.

"We just kept telling them over and over, 'It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay,'" Ashley said, "and this is clearly not okay. And next time if we tell them it's okay, are they going to believe us? Are they going to bring this up? Are they going to be scared every time?"

The emotional toll that follows survivors is "one of the biggest obstacles to recovery," according to Todd James, spokesperson and interim director of the American Red Cross western Ohio chapter, which covers Mercer County.

"There are people who lost their homes, their mementos and everything that they had," he said. "That's overwhelming."

Even the little things, such as replacing credit cards and personal identification, can be stressful for survivors.

"Nobody expects this, and nobody really knows where to start," James said.

The Red Cross chapter will meet with families to offer immediate aid and connect survivors to resources, but James anticipates finding homes for all those displaced by the storm will be the most difficult part of that process.

"This is something that's going to take a lot of people to find an answer to," he said.

Uniting a city

The storm has also brought the community together.

Area schools, churches and other groups spent much of last week helping those affected clean out their homes.

Barbara Germann, a primary school teacher in Celina, brought her daughter out to the Wheatlands neighborhood on Wednesday to help remove trash and debris from the yards.

"(We're) trying to do anything we can do to alleviate some of what these people are going through," she said. Her home, located two miles away from the Wheatlands, was untouched by the tornado.

Moving on will prove difficult for those who lost everything. Already, survivors are struggling to process the whirlwind of emotions, thankful to be alive but unsure how to proceed.

"Everyone keeps asking are you okay, are you fine, how are you doing," Eberle said. "And you say you're okay, you say you're fine, you say you're good, but inside you're just screaming and you're crying and you're mad and you're sad and you're just all the things.

"But you're thankful and you're blessed, and you're just so glad for what you do have. Like he said, you can't put a price on the kids sleeping at night and eating and playing happy. We've tried not to have them out there. I even went as far as, they've gotten new blankets, they've gotten new things. It's not that I want to replace what they had here at home, but I want to try and not remind them of that night and remind them that these are the only things that you have out of your house right now."

By Mackenzi Klemann

mklemann@limanews.com

ONLY ON LIMAOHIO.COM

See more photos of the Celina storm damage and recovery on LimaOhio.com.

Reach Mackenzi Klemann at 567-242-0456.

___

Visit The Lima News (Lima, Ohio) at www.limaohio.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.