West Virginia community stunned by first-ever recorded tornado, leaves homes and farmland destroyed

HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) — Several homes, barns, and sections of farmland were destroyed after an early Tuesday morning tornado.

The community in Hancock County says they are just in complete shock after seeing the amount of catastrophic damage.

7News’ Annalise Murphy spoke with the National Weather Service Out of Pittsburgh and several community members to fully understand how devastating this damage is.

I was surprised more than anything else. It’s never happened around here before. I mean we’ve had some bad storms, but nothing like a tornado coming through.”

Dan Oyster | Hancock County Resident

This was the general reaction received while talking to several residents.

The tornado hit the Fair Haven area of Hancock County the hardest, but sections of Orchard Road also experienced some damage.

It appears that this started right in this International Drive Area. And it looks like it crossed over Route 8 into the Orchard Road Area. Behind the State Game Lands. At night it was really hard to see just how bad it was. We were able to see that some homes were catastrophically damaged. But in the daylight, we’re able to see the impact to the area as a whole”

Jeremey Ober | Hancock County EMA Director

A home has completely lost its roof with debris scattered throughout the property. The homeowners tell me they believe the house is a total loss and they will have to rebuild.

The owners did want to express gratitude to the community for coming together and supporting them during this difficult time.

The farm to the right is over 100 years old and experienced catastrophic damage with the loss of at least four to five barns.

Officials tell 7News all the farmers’ cattle are safe and accounted for.

A team from the National Weather Service out of Pittsburgh told 7News that this was the first tornado ever recorded within Hancock County.

We see several buildings and several houses that are missing the roofs. We see trees that were debarked and we see a farm and dairy barns outside that were clearly destroyed. Campers turned over, tractor trailers from farm tractors that were moved like 50 to 60 yards. So, again, a very extensive damage from very strong winds last night. Just the big, the big thing is that no one got any real fatalities or no injuries.”

Fred McMullen| Meteorologist, National Weather Service, Pittsburgh PA

Hancock County EMA Director Jeremy Ober says it will take them several days to really access the scope of the damage.

New Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department is accepting donations of food, clothes, and money for impacted families.

When 7News spoke to the National Weather Service out of Pittsburgh this afternoon, they said this event is exactly why having a way to get these warning alerts is so important. It’s not just a safety measure, it’s life-saving.

Those impacted by this tornado are encouraged to call 1-800-RED CROSS.

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