Van Wert County remembers 10 year anniversary of destructive tornado

VAN WERT COUNTY, Ohio (WANE) - Ten years ago on November 10, 2002, a massive tornado ripped through Van Wert County, Ohio.

According to Rick McCoy, the director of the Emergency Management Agency in Van Wert County, the F4 tornado was a quarter mile wide and the wind speeds were 260 miles per hour.

"You could just feel that very eerie feeling," McCoy said, when asked to recall that day.  "You knew something was going to happen."

McCoy said he has seen 24 tornadoes touch down in his county over the 22 years he has worked at the EMA director.

It was ranked as one of the top ten tornadoes to ever hit the northeastern part of the United States.

"The National Weather Service rated that as the size of the tornado, and the strength of the tornado," McCoy said.

According to McCoy, the tornado first hit Blackford and Adams counties in Indiana. It then lifted and touched down again, ripping through 51 miles of land in Ohio.

The tornado was headed for a crowded movie theater on the west side of Van Wert.  Thanks to weather spotters, EMA officials were able to send out a siren 26 minutes before the twister reached the theater.  Everyone inside found shelter, and no one was injured.

McCoy said theater workers gathered all the people in the restrooms for protection.  The roof of the building was ripped off, and was the drive-in movie theater next door.

McCoy said two people were killed that day and 19 were injured.

The estimated temporary job loss and destruction cost Van Wert County $50 million, according to McCoy. The tornado destroyed several homes and factory buildings in the city's industrial complex.

"It looked like the tornado had tired to pick it up," Donna Holman said.  Her family had to rebuild their home after the twister destroyed it.

Holman said they used to live five houses down from the theater, but now their house is only two homes away. 

McCoy said added precautions have been added over the past decade.  He has handed out more than 500 NOAA weather radios, and the county has added three sirens in the county.  He has also began sending out weather alerts through Facebook, and plans to do the same in the future on Twitter.