Locals applaud city, grapple with insurance companies after tornado

Mar. 26—It has been a month since a tornado drove through Norman, wreaking havoc on different communities, including a neighborhood south of Eastridge Park.

And locals are still working to rebuild what was once a thriving place to live.

Some residents say the stress of working with insurance companies and contractors far outweighs the stress of having their homes ripped apart by a large funnel cloud.

As passers-by visit the community, they will see debris stacked on the side of the road, fences torn down, trucks picking up trash, construction workers on roofs, plywood covering windows, doors, and garages, and blue tarp covering holes in roofs and other parts of homes.

Some homeowners, even those whose structures were hit, never left. Others left for a period to live with friends and neighbors or stayed in a hotel for a couple of days or a week and have returned. A handful of people have not returned because their houses are not salvageable.

Julie Martin, a resident of Frost Lane, said the tornado drove holes through her roof and damaged the exterior of the home. To her surprise, the inside wasn't damaged from the effects of the tornado.

However, in the last month, she has been battling with her insurance company, Allstate, which has not fully approved funds to fix the roof, which is still covered with a blue tarp. A month later, the inside of her home is now damaged.

"Now I have a bedroom where the ceiling has collapsed, and I have a pile of wet insulation on top of soaking carpet and drywall all over my bedroom and all over my floor. It is a mess," Martin said.

Every time it has rained since the tornado, water has leaked into the house. Martin said her home is damaged, not from the tornado, but from her insurance company's inability to work with her to patch the roof.

'Holes in my roof'

"I have holes in my roof — big holes," she said. "In this Oklahoma weather, tarp does not hold out the wind and rain."

Recent events have discouraged Martin, who lives alone with her dog and doesn't have others to help her to make decisions concerning her house. She frequently communicates with her insurance company and her contractor, yet her roof is not yet fixed. She will now have to pay Servpro, a water cleanup and restoration service, to clean the carpet and insulation which now harbors mold.

"I am doing this alone. As I'm making decisions I'm not experienced in, I'm having to rely on experts that have their own agendas, and I don't trust anybody to have my back," Martin said. "I feel like everyone wants to take from me. Insurance wants to take away things, then the contractor wants to take everything that the insurance is willing to pay out. I don't know ... I am just discouraged."

She looks to her next door neighbor, who has a brand new roof and a fence and wonders why she hasn't had as much luck.

"I have a garage door I have to open by hand now, and every time I take my dog back to potty, I have to take him out on a leash. I don't have a fence anymore," she said. "Why haven't they approved it? Why haven't they given me money? Why are they piecemealing it all?

The damage to her house is $129,000, which is more than what she owes on it. Her insurance company has passed her from one adjuster to the next. On Friday morning, she was talking to the third adjuster, and she hopes this is the one who will help her fix her roof.

"Insurance has been acting very slowly, and my claim has been passed off," she said. "They pass it off to another person, and then another person. The previous person, she had it for a couple of weeks. This morning, it is getting passed off to a new person."

At some time between Thursday night and Friday morning, part of her ceiling collapsed in the middle of the night, thanks to the latest round of rain.

Strong response

Niall Moffett also lives on Frost Lane. He said the city response has been strong, but added in his neighborhood, most of the problems come from insurance companies and questionable contractors.

"I honestly thought the city's response was pretty good. It was better than I expected," Moffett said. "We had stacked up debris about five feet high. (The city) had a crane and had it lifted."

He said his roof also came in late. It was completed last week, but he is still waiting for a window repairman to fix his windows and garage door.

Moffett has young children, and he is concerned about taking them outside.

"The city brought some street sweepers to get nails and glass off the roads. I honestly thought they did a good job, and it was timely," he said. "My only concern is living here with my children, we take them out on their bikes. Within 50 yards, you'll see nails and glass. We need someone to come through and sweep the sidewalks."

Many of the nails, he said, are from the roofers.

During the tornado, a metal beam hit the side of his house, creating a hole near his kids' bedroom, which punctured through the roof.

He said it affected the temperature, and his children got cold. He moved his children and wife, Krystin, to a friend's house, but everyone in his family came down with the flu.

His daughter, Sabrina Marie Moffeft, born Jan. 9, 2023, died on March 18 of complications from the flu.

"They have said no tragedies have come from this, but my baby died the day after St. Patrick's Day. She got the flu and we buried her yesterday," Moffett said. "A part of me wonders, was the heat being off part of the problem? Maybe it wasn't, but it makes me wonder."

'Amazing support'

Family from throughout the country gathered to support him, his wife, and his children at this time of devastating loss.

"I can't express the gratitude we've had for the community for the amazing support we've had in this time of tragedy," he said.

Moffett stayed at his house amid the aftermath of the tornado because he was worried about looters.

"People would tell me, you'll get looters, but the Norman Police patrolled here, and even after a whole week, they were still patrolling around here," he said.

Moffett said many in the neighborhood don't have their roofs repaired yet, either because they are haggling with insurance, or they signed a contract with a questionable contractor.

"Some people signed to get their roofs repaired with the first person they met," he said. "As you can see, a lot of roofs are not repaired."

He said some of these contractors are looking to make a buck, sign a contract, and won't finish the job.

"It's good advice to not sign a contract with the first person who knocks on your door," Moffett said.

Cameron Primm of Old Central Drive said he has been fortunate to have good insurance that has taken care of him and his family.

"After the first couple days with the heavy presence of larger supports you'd expect, it's slowly gone back to normal," Primm said. "Our house is well supported, both by our neighbors and our families."

He said the city has made an effort to pick up trash, which has benefited his family, as well as the neighborhood.

"We are fortunate to be well insured. We are with a company we trust," Primm said. "We feel like we are on pace with what we've seen with the rest of the neighborhood."

Only a few doors down, Primm said he had a neighbor who experienced what he assessed was a total loss. He said insurance companies are working better with some homeowners than with others.

In the neighborhood, he said many students from the University of Oklahoma rent houses, and many of them haven't returned.

He has noticed that houses that are owner-occupied are getting fixed faster than houses that are being rented out.

"This area houses a lot of graduate students," he said. "Maybe that's a reason why some things seem slower or faster. That's the narrative around here, anyway."

Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at [email protected].

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