Eldon residents continue cleanup with help from insurance

Evidence of the tornado that ripped through Eldon on May 22 is still obvious. Buildings still have damaged siding, and there are piles of debris on some streets.

Residents are continuously cleaning up, and now, many of them with the help of insurance.

Charles Wood’s house was in on area of town that had serious damage. He had a camper that was completely destroyed, as well as damage to his home.

Wood says he is satisfied with the amount of time it took to get money from his insurance company.

“I got the check for the house about two weeks ago. And then I got the check on the car, we both had to go up and sign it, and I got it about two weeks ago so they’ve been very prompt with the insurance company,” Wood said.

He has already received compensation from his insurance company for most of the damage.

“Automobiles is where you get hurt because they depreciate so fast,” he said.

One of his neighbors down the street was getting her roof fixed, as well as other repairs. She was frustrated because her insurance company would only pay $35 to replace a window.

Jason Bishop owns Bishop’s Glass in Eldon. He said his crews have been working nine or 10-hour days to keep up with the demand since the tornado.

“Right now a lot of the people are getting their insurance checks are coming in for all their damage and everything, so now we’re being flooded with all of that,” Bishop said.

He said they started out working on smaller projects and things people needed fixed right away. Now they are starting to get orders for larger buildings or complexes with damage.

“I haven’t replaced my window yet and I haven’t even replaced my inventory yet because we’re still trying to take care of everybody else,” he said.

He had to replace the roof on the business before he could do any of that.

“Within a week I had my funding to take care of that,” he said.

Resident said the amount of money people have gotten and the amount of time it took really depended on their insurance company, but repairs are moving forward regardless.