The National Weather Service confirmed more tornadoes that spawned from multiple lines of storms that hit Columbus on Aug. 11, causing widespread damage in central Ohio.
The strength of the 14 confirmed tornadoes ranged from an EF2 tornado in Clark County near Catawba to an EF0 east of Upper Arlington in Columbus. The other communities impacted by the first line of storms included south Columbus, Springfield, Urbana, Plain City, Choctaw Lake and Olde Towne East.
A second line of storms that appeared later in the day and was classified as a derecho produced tornadoes in southwest Ohio communities like Shandon, Owensville, Monterey, Buford and Winchester.
The NWS said in its online report that most of the tornadoes lasted only a few minutes. The tornado that covered the longest distance was in the Butler County unincorporated community of Shandon, lasting for over 11 miles.
The report said that while the tornadoes caused damage in the first round of storms, "the majority of the damage in these areas, even those where tornadoes developed, was caused by intense widespread straight-line winds on the order of 60- 80 mph with isolated portions reaching up to 90-100 mph."
The NWS described the second round of storms similarly, but with a focus on southwest Ohio. The Storm Prediction Center officially classified this as a derecho.
Insurance experts urge patience and caution as residents clean up
Ohioans impacted by severe storms this month, including major wind storms and tornadoes in Columbus, may still be waiting on insurance claims to be processed.
Ohio Insurance Institute President and CEO Dean Fadel told WOSU insurers like Progressive, Nationwide and Encova are working hard to process what he estimates is thousands of insurance claims for damaged homes and property.
Fadel said insurers have 21 days under Ohio Administrative Code to decide whether to accept or deny a claim. He said people should collect as much evidence as possible, like pictures, videos and receipts, to have a better chance at being approved.
"You can inventory now on a smartphone by taking a video. But that's really the key is just to make you can inventory and prove that that was something that you had and lost," he said.
Fadel said flood insurance is usually handled through the federal government. Areas of Columbus, southwest Ohio and Perry County were hard hit by flooding.
Fadel also warns that while waiting on insurance claims to be processed, people in neighborhoods hard hit by the storms could be targets of door-knocking fraudulent contractors. He said an easy way to identify this type of fraud is if the solicitor's vehicle is from out of state.
"The contractor comes in from another state they knew there was a big storm and they prey on people during these times so it's important for consumers to be vigilant about who they're dealing with," he said.
Fadel said not to sign any agreements or give a down payment to one of these groups.
However, the city of Columbus is partnering with a California nonprofit called Team Rubicon, which can help people with fallen trees or flood damage for free until August 30.
