Lee Price’s young son still gets nervous whenever a strong storm rolls in.
A year ago, a tornado ripped through Price’s home on La Borde Lane in Pensacola. Winds in excess of 100 mph shattered his windows, battered down his doors, punched holes in his roof and tossed Price’s full-size pickup truck with the same ease it hurled the toy Hot Wheels cars in his son’s bedroom.
“It was about as bad you can imagine,” Price said.
On Feb. 15 and 23, 2016, two separate tornadoes tore through the Pensacola area. The first storm cut a 16-mile swath through Century and McDavid, damaging or destroying more than 100 homes. The second storm damaged dozens more homes, traveling eight miles from the Creighton Road area through Ferry Pass into Santa Rosa County.
A year after the tornadoes, home repairs are winding down for some, just ramping up for others and have yet to commence for some unfortunate families.
Most of the lingering damage is centered in Century, were the majority of impacted homes were inherited and uninsured. The county has received State Housing Initiatives Partnership funds to rebuild and restore homes, but paperwork problems have slowed progress for many citizens, said Escambia County Neighborhood Enterprise Division Manager Meredith Reeves.
“(To qualify) they need to have clear titles and be current on their taxes,” Reeves said of program applicants. “Sometimes, that alone is a hindrance … they have title issues, old code enforcement liens. None of them come in and are just ready to go.”
Still, local, state and federal partners are making progress day by day, and Reeves said SHIP funding is being used in Century to replace 18 homes, repair seven and demolish two.
“We’re going to push to do it as quickly as we can,” Reeves said.
Henry Hawkins, mayor of Century, estimated the town is only back to about 20 percent of its pre-tornado condition. He said officials have been working with citizens to help clean up the paperwork on their properties, tracking down relatives to pursue quitclaim deeds to free up titles or referring them to organizations that can help them cut through the red tape.
Hawkins said Century has been been approved for a $1.2 million Community Development Block Grant for rebuilding and repairing homes, though the town is still waiting to get the funding in hand.
“People are optimistic,” Hawkins said of the overall situation. “They’re hoping more can be done sooner, but they have an open mind.”
In Pensacola, repairs are moving much faster, though not without some difficulties.
Price and his family moved back into his Northpointe home in late November. Almost everything — from sheetrock to furniture — had to be replaced, and it was a constant battle with his insurance carrier to get the full value of his lost property, Price said.
Price’s home was insured, and initially the damage was estimated at $146,000. He said once the repairs started, contractors discovered the home probably should have just been totaled.
“It’s harder to repair a house than to just rebuild it, because you’re trying to piece everything back together,” he said. “It’s the same floor plan, but literally everything is new.”
Price added that while his home was insured, property like his yard and trees were not.
“It’s stuff you never think about until you need it,” Price said. “It’s a big deal. It adds up.”
He recommended that everyone review their insurance policy to make sure their coverage is up to snuff.
“They want to pay you as little as possible, and of course, you want as much as possible,” Price said. “It’s a very slow pay process. Know your insurance company and go through your policy.”
Price said overall, he is appreciative things worked out as well as they did. He said he was grateful to all the neighbors who checked in on his family after the storm and to his contractor for doing quality repairs.
But looking back, his main takeaway was, “I’m glad it’s over.”
by Kevin Robinson
Published 5:17 p.m. CT Feb. 19, 2017
