Now that the damage from Monday’s tornado has been assessed at Wright-Patterson, the Ohio Air Force base has begun helping its most affected personnel recover from the devastation.
In addition to a few downed trees on the main part of the base, Wright-Patterson had to remove 331 pounds of debris from its flight line, according to Air Force spokesman Daryl Mayer. He also said that air field operations were returned to normal soon after the May 27 tornado that ripped through Dayton.
The base’s initial evaluation estimated that 150 off-base homes at The Prairies at Wright Field were affected by the tornado. Fourteen of those homes were “deemed uninhabitable,” according to Mayer, though five of those were vacant.
“This number may climb as more problems are discovered — especially in vacant units,” he told the Military Times via email.
Mayer said that most of the damage was in privatized housing, though the streets those homes are on have been cleared of fallen trees and debris at this point. Nine families have been displaced so far due to tornado damage, according to Mayer.
“Base agencies worked with individual families to ensure they had a suitable housing alternative for them,” he said.
Wright-Patterson also set up a claims center for personnel whose homes sustained tornado damage. So far, the center has fielded 24 inquiries and has received eight claims regarding food spoilage from active-duty airmen, Mayer said.
As of Wednesday, all roads had been cleared for use and electrical services had been safely restored to the area, according to a Wright-Patterson press release.
Though water testing was expected to have been completed as of yesterday, there was still a boil advisory in effect, according to that Wednesday press release.
The “large, dangerous” tornado hit Montgomery County, Ohio, hard Monday night, causing gas lines to be shut down and killing at least one person.
