The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 5

THE Cinc innati Enquirer Saturday, April 10, 1999 A5 Path of Destruction 'The house was shaking and we could hear glass breaking. We could hear the roof coming off -Tammy Wade of Montgomery Visit enquirer.com forcontin- uina cov- 5rS erage of the Tornado of '99 The commercial impact The response teams At least 7 businesses destroyed The Thriftway grocery at 11390 Montgomery Road in the Harper's Point shopping area didn't escape the storm's effects. Downed power lines made the parking lot hazardous. A number of area stores were heavily damaged, but the storms struck at a time of day when few people were shopping. The Enquirer Yoni Pozner The Cincinnati Enqtiirer'Yoni Pozner Mike Thurmann of the Montgomery Fire Division takes a moment to rest on Cornell Road.

Storm could spur support for tax levy Interlott provides lottery machines and service to the Ohio Lottery. A spokeswoman said other than some missed service calls, the damage to Interlott's headquarters wasn't causing the lottery any problems. Next door to Interlott, the building occupied by Queen City Reproduction and Design, a duplicating service, was leveled. Ed Turek, Interlott's vice chairman, rushed down Millington Court Friday afternoon to inspect the damage. Blue Ash police barricaded the street, but The TVradio coverage Each station had reason to boast time to dispatch fire trucks and ambulances throughout the county, he said.

To respond to the storm more effectively, the communications center used a frequency that police typically use to check warrants and run license plate checks. "We simply had to use it," Mr. Hinkle said. "We had no choice." If the new radio system were in place, all of the police and fire units responding to the storm could use one "talk group," making it easier for them to communicate and freeing up other radio frequencies for other emergencies, he said. Colerain Township Fire Chief Bruce Smith, who was stationed at Montgomery and Kemper roads Friday morning, said he watched firefighters and police officers retrace each other's steps because they couldn't communicate effectively.

In a situation where every minute counts, such duplication can be dangerous, he said. It wasn't until around 9 a.m. more than three hours after the storm hit that he finally felt comfortable that police and fire units at the scene knew where the problems were and had them under control. "When you have a disaster like that, you're going to have chaos for a while," he acknowledged. "Our job is to get the chaos under control a little better." Enquirer reporters Bernie Mixon and Tanya Albert BY LUCY MAY The Cincinnati Enquirer The storm that devastated parts of Hamilton County provided what Blue Ash Police Chief Mike Allen called a prime example of why voters need to pass Issue 3 in May.

Issue 3 is a countywide proposal that would raise $63.7 million over four years to replace the county communications system that police and fire officials describe as antiquated and dangerous. Supporters of the levy hope that as tragic as the storm was it will help efforts to pass the levy voters have rejected twice before. "I think it will help and maybe wake some people up," said Hamilton County Commissioner John Dowlin. The county's communications system doesn't allow police officers and firefighters from different departments to communicate with each other. It also leads to overloaded radio frequencies that threaten the entire county, said Bill Hinkle, director of Hamilton County's communications center.

"When you have something like this, we become inundated with 911 telephone calls from residents and radio transmissions from law enforcement in the field," he said. "Radio traffic is so congested, it's a mess." But it's not just a mess for residents in the heart of the disaster area. "All this radio time affected our ability to respond to other emergencies," he said. That means it took more Mobilization As soon as Friday morning's storm hit a trailer in Addyston, Hamilton County's communications center knew about it. The center immediately was inundated with 911 calls from residents and radio transmissions from law enforcement.

The center then activated the Hamilton County Disaster Network, said Bill Hinkle, the center director. The network puts hospitals throughout the Tristate on notice through a radio network. It also alerts the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency, the American More damaged in Blue Ash BY MIKE BOYER The Cincinnati Enquirer Jerry Schroder, president of Cincinnati Piping Supply Inc. in Blue Ash, was marveling at his good fortune Friday afternoon. Cincinnati Piping, a small metal-tubing distributor off Creek Road, sits near the tornado's fault line.

Although Cincinnati Piping was without power until midaf-ternoon, it was pretty much business as usual, Mr. Schroder said. "I've never seen anything like this. We got lucky," he said. Without power, Cincinnati Piping's salesmen kept picking up the phone every few seconds.

"We got about 20 or 30 calls that way," Mr. Schroder said. Just 30 feet away, an industrial building owned by Gallenstein Brothers Inc. lay crumpled its metal roof bent over like a match cover, structural steel twisted like pretzels. Bruce Henry, Blue Ash deputy city manager, said seven commercial buildings along Milling-ton Court, a commercial cul-de-sac, south of Creek Road and west of Interstate 71, were destroyed.

He estimated another eight buildings in the vicinity had varying damage. Wornick a producer of military and humanitarian rations a few blocks away on Ken- The insurers Adjusters quick to arrive at disaster BY JEFF McKINNEY The Cincinnati Enquirer Two of Cincinnati's largest insurers expect homeowners and companies to report by next week tens of millions of dollars in tornado damage. Ohio Casualty Corp. and Cincinnati Financial will end up paying claims after heavy winds destroyed everything from homes to businesses to apartment complexes. "We have a lot of policyholders out there who are in trouble, and we're going to help them the best we can," said Cindy Denney, spokeswoman at Hamilton-based Ohio Casualty.

Storm losses are expected to include major structural damage to the Shops at Harper's Point in Symmes Township, as well as broken windows and roofs lifted off expensive homes in Blue Ash. Mike Gagnon, property claims manager at Cincinnati Insurance a unit of Cincinnati Financial, said his office Friday received 120 to 125 claims with estimated losses of $5 million to $6 million. He said most of the damage reported was to homes. But Mr. Gagnon expects more claims by next week.

"We definitely expect the number to grow, but we don't know to what point," he said. "The claims have been com- correct? Dispatcher: Well, but one is on the ground 6 miles southwest of Hooven. Caller: OK, and just watch the TV, I guess. Dispatcher: Police dispatcher. Caller: Hi.

I feel a little foolish calling you but you are my first person to call. I'm a Loveland citizen and I heard the sirens going off and I know the weather is kind of bad, but when Loveland sets their sirens off, what is that an indication of? Dispatcher: There's a tornado warning that has been issued for Hamilton County. Caller: That means one of them has touched down? Dispatcher: Right, one is on the ground 6 miles southwest of Hooven, which is near Indiana. But a tornado warning has been issued wood Road, wasn't damaged. Jim Weber, spokesman, said a number of workers couldn't get to the plant Friday, but operations should return to normal today.

Karen Fanella, a representative of Gallenstein, a Blue Ash commercial developer, said 10 buildings its owns and leases in the industrial area around Creek Road, including the seven on Millington Court, were damaged. "The police aren't letting the tenants into the buildings to assess the damage because of the To file a claim Here are some things homeowners should do after being hit by tornadoes or other severe weather: Take inventory of all the damage to your home. The list provides the insurance adjuster an accurate report of your losses and speeds up the claims process. Make temporary repairs to prevent further damage. Make only temporary repairs and save your receipts, so your insurer can reimburse you for the repairs.

If there is damage to your home or other insured structure or property caused by a fallen tree, your insurance carrier will have the tree removed and repair the damage, minus your ing in at a slow pace, probably because people are having a hard time communicating." He said Cincinnati Insurance will have 30 to 33 claims representatives working with agents and policyholders to help the insured, help people file claims and assess damage. Ms. Denney of Ohio Casualty expects the property and casualty insurer to have "all kinds of losses," including claims being filed for damage to cars, homes, businesses and apartment buildings. She said the carrier has not been able to assess the losses it might incur because many of the company's adjusters could not get to damaged areas. Ms.

Denney said the company expects to have several losses from buildings it insures that are part of the Harper's Point shopping area. She also said Ohio Casualty insures buildings at the Harper's Point apartment complex in Symmes Township. She BY JOHN KIESEWETTER The Cincinnati Enquirer When Kay Schindler of Saint Bernard heard the weather sirens shortly before 5 a.m., she turned on the TV and saw an amazing sight. WCPO-TV meteorologist Pete Delkus was on Channel 9 charting the path of a tornado, street by street, across Hamilton County. "I was very impressed.

I think they must have saved some people's lives," she said. Channel 9's "Storm Tracker Doppler Radar" had a street-mapping system that Mr. Delkus used to pinpoint the bright red storm cells. He had stayed all night at Channel 9 to track the storm system he told viewers at 11 p.m. could possibly bring severe weather.

At WKRC-TV, meteorologists had been warning viewers about possible bad weather for several days, said meteorologist Steve Horstmeyer. "We knew about the storms out in Illinois," Channel 12's Tim Hedrick told viewers at noon Friday, broadcasting from storm-ravaged Blue Ash, "but we were unsure how strong they would be when they got into our area." Channels 12 and 9 said their continuous coverage began before 5 a.m. WLWT (Channel 5) cut away for NBC's Today show at 7 a.m. for national news, then resumed coverage. Those three aired storm reports all day, through 6:30 p.m.

WXIX-TV (Channel 19) aired seven weather bulletins between 4 a.m. and its 6-9 a.m news. structural damage," she said. Mr. Henry said the city would permit access to buildings this morning on a case-by-case basis.

But in the case of the seven heavily damaged buildings at the south end of Millington Court, he said, "1 don't see how that will be possible." He said demolition on those buildings would start today. The offices of Interlott Technologies the manufacturer of instant lottery machines, was damaged on Millington Court. deductible. Sheds, fences and garages are covered under most homeowners policies. Don't panic if your lose your policy or if it has been lost or destroyed in the storm.

Most insurance companies have a file of your policy and can help you file a claim when you report your name and tell them your insurance agent's name. Don't let this burden delay the process to file a claim. Contact your insurance company or agent as soon as possible Source: Insurance Information Institute, Enquirer research said there were reports of roofs being ripped off. "We had adjusters just getting in there around noon, even though we dispatched catastrophe teams as early as 7 a.m.," she said. Insurance experts suggested that if homeowners and business owners are able to make temporary repairs to protect their property from further damage without endangering themselves, they should do so.

For example: Cover exposed portions of roofs with heavy-duty tarps and board up broken windows. Then start a list of problems and issues that need to be repaired. But insurance executives said their main priority is to get help to individuals. "Our main concern is making sure people are safe and get the help they need," Mr. Gagnon said.

"We'll take care of the claims, but we want to help them all we can first." that are touching them. Dispatcher: OK. at Kenwood and Pfeiffer? Caller: Just north of Pfeiffer Road at Kenwood. Dispatcher: OK Caller: It is unbelievably bad right here. The Sunoco station here at the corner of Pfeiffer and Kenwood Road, the pumps are blown out of the ground.

Dispatcher: OK, let's see here. Caller: I'm going to go inside this building. I'm going to hang up. Dispatcher: That's fine, Bye! Caller: Bye! Dispatcher: 91 1 emergency. Caller: A tornado just came through here.

Dispatcher: OK. where are you at ma'am. Caller: (Gives address.) I'm here if I in an officer allowed Mr. Turek to walk around the outside of the building. "We don't think we're in too bad shape," Mr.

Turek said. "The back of the building is blown out, and the roof has collapsed into the building." But the front area, where records and computer systems were kept, appeared intact. Interlott's manufacturing plant, a few doors north at Creek Road and Millington, escaped serious damage. "Come Monday we'll be back in business," Mr. Turek said.

Each station had something to boast about: Channel 12: Only Channel 12 was commercial-free from dawn to 4 p.m. "I'm sure we threw away a lot of money," Mr. Horstmeyer said. Mr. Horstmeyer early on declared it a F-4 tornado, which would mean winds from 207 to 260 mph.

Channel 9: Chopper 9 pilot Dale Williams provided the best aerial pictures clear, concise and steady. Channel 9's Jay Shatz found perhaps the most compelling story, about a 10-month-old Montgomery baby who survived being thrown from his crib and across the house. Channel 19: Less than an hour after the storm, Tristate viewers got their first look at damage at 6:10 a.m. from Channel 19 helicopter traffic reporter Dan Carroll. To cover the damage, the station broadcast more local news Friday than any day in the 5'2-year history of Channel 19 news, with more than an hour of special reports during the day.

Channel 5: Only Channel 5 had a trio of helicopters, one from Cincinnati, and others borrowed from Louisville and Columbus stations. Providing expertise from the field were News Director Lyn Tolan and General Manager Rick Rogala, who live in the damaged northeastern Hamilton County suburbs. WLW-AM (700): Many of the first and most graphic damage reports came from listeners who called in immediately after the storm passed. Caller: No, me and my two little babies are in here. Dispatcher: Are you hurt? Caller: Not, I'm not.

Dispatcher: Well ma'am, listen, right now everybody is going crazy with this storm. Caller: I don't have any shoes on Dispatcher: Ma'am if you are not hurt, the police can't do anything about the storm. Caller: I know. Should I leave? What should I do? Dispatcher: No. I wouldn't do that.

OK? Just stay in the bathroom That's probably the safest place for you right now, OK? I have other calls I have to get to, people who are experiencing the same thing. I'm not sending the police because there is nothing they can do right now. You aren't injured and it sounds like you just had heavy winds come through there. 4 was instant Red Cross and the Academy of Medicine, which notifies doctors in special medical assistance teams. Once a command post is established at the scene of the disaster, the communications center starts taking orders from the commander, Mr.

Hinkle said. Fire and police personnel from throughout the county responded to the storm. Friday morning, Hamilton County's communication center had reports of 27 life squads responding in the Blue Ash and Montgomery area, Mr. Hinkle said. Lucy May Operator: OK.

bye. Dispatcher: Police dispatcher. Caller: Hi, I'm sorry. I'm not sure if this is the right number to call. I live in Anderson Township, in Summit, and I just heard the sirens go off.

Am I supposed to be in my basement? Dispatcher: Well it's a tornado warning just out for Hamilton County A tornado was spotted 6 miles southwest of Hooven. Caller: OK. I've got the TV on. My husband's out of town. I'm here with two babies.

Dispatcher: Well it's still pretty far from where you are, but they have issued a tornado warning for Hamilton County. Caller: OK, I was thinking it was going off in Clermont County, but it is the one in Hamilton County and it's because the conditions are right. 911 STORM calls for Hamilton County. Caller: Is it coming this way? Dispatcher: It is moving eastward, yes. The best thing to do is to monitor the news, television or radio.

Caller: Well it's kind of exciting to wake up to that. Dispatcher: Absolutely. Caller: Thank you so much. Dispatcher: You are welcome. Dispatcher: 911 emergency.

Caller: Hello, can you hear me? Dispatcher: Yesl Caller: I'm at the intersection of Pfeiffer Road and Kenwood Road. Dispatcher: OK. Caller: A huge wind came through here these gas stations have pumps ripped out of the ground. There is a pole that is leaning to the right and the trees are catching on fire because of the wires in the bathroom by myself. Dispatcher: OK.

you did see a tornado? Caller: I heard it come through my house. I'm in the bathroom. I don't know what to do. I don't know I should go out. Dispatcher: OK, ma'am.

I need you to get yourself together. I know you are terrified, but I am here with you, OK? Caller: Do you think it will come back? Dispatcher: I can't predict a storm ma'am. OK. you said it came through, have you looked outside the bathroom? Caller: No. I'm so afraid, ma'am.

can't. Dispatcher: Is there anybody else the house with you' Caller: No. just me and my two kids. Dispatcher: Are any of you hurt? Confusion and fear after tornadoes swept through Greater Cincinnati early Friday are evident in excerpts of 91 1 calls to the Hamilton County Communications Center. Operator: 91 1 emergency.

Caller: Hi, I'm sorry to bother but I didn't know who else to call. I just wanted to know, is there a tornado warning? Operator: There is a tornado warning, yes that's correct. There is a tornado spotted on the ground 6 miles west of Hooven, which is in the southwestern portion of Hamilton County, moving easterly. Caller: So it's moving towards like what? Blue Ash? Operator: It's moving easterly across Hamilton County. There's a possibility I would take shelter, that's correct.

Caller: Thank you try much..