On Monday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods and commissioner Carl Zalak provided an update on the county’s recovery efforts following this past weekend’s tornado.
“This weekend, our community faced damage and destruction from a tornado with winds up to 110 miles per hour,” said Sheriff Woods.
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville confirmed that an EF-1 tornado passed through Marion County on Saturday morning. The tornado, which had a width of 65 yards, touched down near Dunnellon at around 7:45 a.m. and traveled east for 25 miles until it reached Ocala shortly after 8 a.m.
According to Jimmy Cowan, Property Appraiser, the tornado caused an estimated property loss of $12.3 million, and this figure could rise. This preliminary estimate includes structural damage, loss of personal property, and the cost of debris removal.
Despite the significant amount of damage that was caused in the tornado’s path, no injuries were reported.
Commissioner Zalak stated that the Marion County Board of County Commissioners is working closely with the Emergency Operations Center, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, Marion County Fire Rescue, and Ocala Fire Rescue to coordinate efforts in assisting residents who were impacted.
This past Saturday morning, road crews were dispatched as soon as it was safe, and they began clearing the roadways and repairing traffic signals. Roadway clearing and traffic signal restoration was completed by the end of the day on Saturday.
Here is some information for any county residents who were impacted:
- The Marion County Division of Emergency Management has activated the Citizen Information Line. Citizens with questions or concerns can call the information line at 352-369-7500, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The information line will remain open daily until it is no longer needed.
- Blue tarps are available at Central Christian Church located at 3010 NE 14th Street. A temporary shelter has also been set up at the church to support anyone who was displaced by the tornado.
- Interfaith Emergency Services is providing free bus passes to anyone who lost their vehicle during the severe weather.
- Neighborhood Storage is offering one month of free storage rent to county residents who have been impacted by the tornado.
- All local food pantries are accepting food and hygiene product donations.
Sheriff Woods stated, “We’re proud of the citizens we have in Marion County because in the people’s time of need, you stepped up to the plate. I saw Dunkin’ Donuts (and) Sam’s who reached out to their fellow businesses along State Road 200, who came and brought them water, brought them food, made sure that everybody was okay.”
“We’ve got a great community and this is a place where family still matters,” said commissioner Zalak.