Officials say deadly Ohio tornado damage to cost at least $100 million

Officials in northwest Ohio say tornado damage there will cost at least $100 million. Last Saturday's twister killed seven people.

A worker clears debris the of the destroyed Lake Township police headquarters in Lake Township, Ohio Monday after a tornado. Damage from the deadly twisters is estimated at $100 million, Ohio officials say.

Rebecca Cook/Reuters

June 7, 2010

Officials say the northwest Ohio tornado that killed seven people over the weekend left behind at least $100 million in damage.

At a news conference in devastated Lake Township Monday, Wood County emergency management director Brad Gilbert also still estimated that at least 100 homes were destroyed over severely damaged.

The National Weather Service says Saturday's tornado was Ohio's strongest in eight years. Preliminary information indicates it rated a 3 on a 0-5 scale used to measure tornadoes, with 5 being most severe. Category 3 tornadoes have top winds of up to 165 mph.

Weather service meteorologist Kirk Lombardy in Cleveland says a more powerful Nov. 10, 2002 tornado in northwest Ohio had winds topping 200 mph. That storm system killed five people statewide.