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Despite tornado, needs are met

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published December 28, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Edmund D. Fountain] Evie Vitale surveys the damage to a bathroom in her house at the Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club on Wednesday. Vitale was on a plane to New York when a tornado tore through her San Antonio neighborhood Monday.

SAN ANTONIO - Evie Vitale walked into her house Wednesday, accompanied by her daughter and niece, to find the white carpet littered with glass and dirt. Insulation poured out of the bathroom ceiling, revealing a gaping hole in the roof. The door to one of the guest rooms was thrown down the hallway.

Vitale's was one of 27 homes in Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club that were left uninhabitable by the Christmas Day tornado.

But Vitale, who planned to spend the week visiting family in New York, took it in stride.

"Thank God for insurance," she said.

Insurance will be the key to rebuilding these homes because the destruction is not widespread enough to warrant federal or state aid, Jim Martin, Pasco County's emergency director, said late Wednesday.

State, federal and county crews at the golf course community Wednesday found that 93 homes were damaged, with 21 heavily damaged and six destroyed.

That figure falls far short of the 801 homes or businesses that must be destroyed for federal aid to kick in. Such funding would cover only uninsured losses.

Low-interest loans, which are the most common form of federal disaster assistance, are still a possibility. The Small Business Administration would provide the loans if at least 40 percent of the damaged properties are uninsured or underinsured. But that may not be the case in the well-heeled Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club, where insurance adjusters were already inspecting the damage the day after the storm.

From almost all perspectives, people like Vitale were well-tended to. Within minutes of pulling into her driveway, Vitale was visited by a neighbor checking to see if she needed anything. It was a scene repeated over and over since Monday's tornado, with residents of the 55-and-older community quickly coming to one another's aid.

Just ask the Red Cross. Spokeswoman Melanie Koch said only two families had been placed in hotel rooms - because only two had asked. Everyone else said they would be staying with friends or family.

"People are thinking about preparedness more, which is very important," Koch said. "I think in the last two years, our community has really started thinking about, 'Let's go buy the water, let's get our kit, let's have our canned food available.' "

Neighborly help is part of it.

"That's one of the things with disaster preparedness. It's a great team effort by the community," she said.

Standing Wednesday in the wreck that was her entryway, Vitale, who recently left a career at Saint Leo University, resisted the urge to straighten and clean. She looked forward to retrieving her beloved dog, Samantha, from a neighbor's house. She will meet soon with an insurance adjuster. Her daughter will stay all week to help.

"I'm all right," Vitale said. "I've got so much support. How can I not be all right?"

Times staff writer Jodie Tillman contributed to this report.

If your home is damaged

If your home was damaged by the Christmas twister, you should give Pasco County Property Appraiser Mike Wells a call. It could save you money. That's because property taxes are based on a home's value as of Jan. 1. County tax appraisers need to reassess damaged homes so that owners will pay taxes on the reduced values, Wells said. Homeowners should contact the county as close to Monday as possible, before repairs are made, Wells said. The phone number for the Dade City office is (352) 521-4433.

Call for help

- Homeowners who need help filing an insurance claim on their tornado-damaged properties may call the state's storm hotline toll-free at 1-800-22-STORM (227-8676). The hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The consumer specialists staffing that hotline will also be able to help homeowners check on the licensing of insurance adjusters.

- For American Red Cross assistance, call toll-free at 1-877-741-1444.

- The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has a hotline for reporting instances of price-gouging in storm-affected areas. Call toll-free at 1-800-HELPFLA (435-7352) or 1-800-FLAYUDA (352-9832).

[Last modified December 27, 2006, 21:31:27]