News : Storm cost: $4.7 million in damage to public properties; clean-up continues

The damaged Pizza Hut will reopen in a month, according to the sign.

Parts of the Pizza Hut roof cover the parking lot.

Workers repair damage at Vinton Post 57 Legion Hall.

A tree remains atop this house on West 8th Street.

Many homes sustained major damage in the July 11 storm.

The damaged sign in front of the Vinton Pizza Hut, surrounded by pieces of the building, announces that the business should re-open in a month, and thanks Vinton residents.

The Vinton Legion Hall is under repair, as the Legionnaires have canceled their fish fry fund-raisers until September. Many business buildings between those two sites remain in need of repair or removal following the July 11 storm.

Many homes, damaged by winds and/or falling trees, are still being assessed by property owners and insurance adjustors.

State officials who visited the county last week estimated public losses within the county to be at least $4.7 million, said Scott Hansen, the Benton County Emergency Management Director. The biggest single loss of that $4.7 million is the Iowa Braille School, which sustained major roof and structure damage.

Hansen said that he will not estimate the total amount of private losses incurred by the storm, because the damages are being handled by owner's private insurance, and not FEMA.