Virginia

State Farm Associates Respond to Pulaski Tornadoes with Superior Service

On April 9, F1 and F2 tornadoes struck the New River Valley towns of Pulaski, Draper and Dublin with little warning. In moments, the storms churned through the mountainous area, damaging more than 400 homes, uprooting trees, and injuring at least eight people.

Zone Catastrophe Coordinator Jamie Beadle said there are more than 200 claims in Auto and Fire claims.

“Of those, 27 homes sustained major structural damage or were uninhabitable,” Jamie said.

Though strong storms were predicted in the area, the tornadoes were a complete surprise. Prior to April 9, only one tornado strike is on record in the Pulaski area since record-keeping there began, according to State Farm Agent Webb Donald.

“Shortly after 7:30 Friday night, I could see that there was a terrible storm headed toward Pulaski. I told my wife, Liv, that we should go to my office. On the way, we saw where the tornadoes had gone through the area. It was really bad. I got to the office around 8:15 p.m. and began taking claims over the phone,” Webb said. “Things finally calmed down around midnight.”

Agent Deanie Hall of Dublin, Va., received approximately 40 claims in the week following the storm. She, too, stayed open until midnight on Friday. Without even having to contact them, she said her staff – Nicole Campbell and Desirea Taylor – showed up at the office.

“We started making phone calls Friday night, checking on the people in the damaged areas,” Deanie said. “I was out in the field all weekend. We stayed open on Saturday. Nicole even took her laptop home with her when she left to be available for claims.”

Knowing that claims employees were there for them after normal business hours was reassuring for both Webb and Deanie.

“They said they were there to help us with anything we needed,” Webb said. “They told me that they knew what my team and I were going through trying to handle the 150+ claims. They promised to take the load off of us as much as they could.”

Fire Claim Representative Carrie Dase cancelled her family plans and arrived on Saturday.

Team Manager Jeff Johnson of the Charlottesville Operations Center drove down and jumped in the car with Webb to go to those houses that were hit the hardest.

Based on the devastation he saw, Jeff said he was surprised that there no fatalities. He saw uprooted trees with at least four feet wide stuck inside homes like toothpicks through a sandwich.

“The damage wasn’t in a widespread area, but where the tornadoes landed, the damages were severe,” Jeff said. “We went to one house in Draper. The woman hid in a closet during the tornado. She suffered some cuts but the roof was blown off the house and the mattresses were outside. The Good Lord spared them.”

Jeff immediately ordered a mobile storage unit from PODS® to be delivered to the home while the roof was being repaired.

One woman had lived in the home built by her father for 65 years. Today there is nothing left of the home but piles of rubble. Nothing was salvageable.

After Hours? State Farm is There

As a new agent, Webb said watching our claims team in action was reassuring.

“They knew what to do, what to say, and who to call. It’s obvious they enjoy what they do,” Webb said. “We were on the scene before many other people could even call their carriers because they were closed.”

Webb said fellow agents helped out, too. Agent David Blevins of Floyd brought food on Saturday. And Agent Hettie Barnes of Roanoke also offered assistance.

Deanie said Guardian, a company that handles auto glass repairs, brought food the day after the tornadoes struck. She and the Guardian rep walked around the Draper area, passing out food to the victims and the workers.

“It is heart wrenching, as well as physically and emotionally draining,” she said. “These people are our customers, but more than that, they are our friends, family and loved ones. I care personally about them. We have cried with them, comforted them and stood in awe at the destruction.”

Today, more than a week after the storms struck, things have calmed down. A few calls continue to come in for more minor damage from customers who wanted those hardest hit to get taken care of first.

“People have been so caring. The community has really come together,” Webb said.