Scotts Valley continues to recover from the tornado and prepare for the next one

An EF-1 tornado struck Scotts Valley on Saturday, causing extensive damage and injuring five people.

“It felt like the last day. As if the world was ending. Because I mean, trees just fell over it. I mean, it was easy. It was torture,” said Med Daugherty, who visited Scotts Valley.

The tornado struck around 1:40 p.m., downing trees and power lines, overturning cars and damaging signs. The NWS stated that a preliminary damage survey determined the tornado was rated a 1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Most of the damage occurred along Mount Hermon Road.

“There was hail. I noticed the hail coming down. And then, right after that, I started seeing really strong winds. Some of my customers noticed the doors flapping open and held on to them because you see branches starting to fly, big branches trying to fly through the air,” said Chris Wakeland, McDonald’s general manager.

“It was scary because we had never seen it before. We have certainly experienced earthquakes. But this was something completely different,” said Debbie Lacapria, a Scotts Valley resident.

“Everyone is trying to help each other, people are taking branches off the road and trying to clear a path,” Lacapria added.

“I made sure every one of my cars was in order. And then I got out to help other injured people. So we were fine. A lot of people weren’t feeling well,” said Joe Staley, a Felton resident.

According to police, five people were injured by the tornado.

“It’s a flood of emotions that you can’t fully control. But the underlying joy is that no one who was with me was hurt. The result could have been much worse. “That kind of thing just doesn’t happen here,” Staley said.

PREPARE FOR THE NEXT

Scotts Valley Mayor Randy Johnson is emphasizing the need for future tornado preparedness after a rare tornado caused significant damage in the region.

“People were hurt, cars were overturned, we didn’t see any flying cows, but at the same time it was a significant event that caught our attention,” Johnson said.

Scotts Valley Mayor Randy Johnson says yesterday’s chaotic scene opened his eyes and he is now better prepared for a future tornado.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever have a tornado siren or anything like that, but I think there needs to be talk about implementing tornado warnings in the future because we’ve been through that,” Johnson said.

The emergency services were on duty around the clock and it could take a few more days until the damage caused is repaired.

“The lights are down and they’re flashing red lights on Mount Herman for the next two or three days because we don’t have light standards right now to kind of replace them and we have to order them in,” Johnson said.

Johnson says crews will continue to be out here for the next few days, but he’s thankful the tornado didn’t strike anywhere else.

“Our teams will continue to assess the situation and look for further damage to other people or structures, but because it happened right here in a parking lot instead of a residence or during a school day… it could have hit the school, we are very, very worried. “Lucky,” Johnson said.

Although some people have had to be hospitalized, Johnson is relieved to hear they will be OK.

“We were very grateful and fortunate that no one died, because such an event, even if it was small and short-lived, was very cruel,” Johnson said.