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More damage has come to light as the city of Aumsville continues to assess costs from a tornado that cut a swath through the small Central Willamette Valley town on Dec. 14.

Initial reports suggested 50 homes and businesses were damaged, with cleanup costs estimated at around $1.1 million. After a month or so of investigation, damage has been found at 70 homes and businesses, and it seems likely that the initial repair costs will increase, said Maryann Hills, city manager.

“We’re finding that our initial assessment was low and there’s a lot more damage than we initially saw,” Hills said. “(At) City Hall, for instance, we found that all the front windows had to be replaced after being hit with debris. We’re still buried under a workload of tornado recovery, and more information is coming in all the time.”

Damage to brick structures, vinyl siding, drywall, glass and roofing has been common in the town, and while most people are rebuilding, a few businesses have decided to pack up and sell their lots, Hills said.

“R.D. Canyon Appliance and Refrigeration Repair, which is here on Main Street … the insurance estimates didn’t really cover the cost to replace the business, so he’s decided to just destroy the storefront and sell it as a vacant lot,” Hills said.

Near railroad tracks sits a flipped truck trailer that has yet to be removed, she said.

“You can see the path of the tornado through here still, with downed fences and trees that have been cut off and some buildings that were topped and are just rubble,” she said.

The area hit by the tornado, which makes up about 7 percent of the town, is now dotted with construction fences, she added.

So far, the town has expedited five building permits, but many more are likely to move through as insurance money become available.

Several contractors are working with homeowners and businesses to guide them through the rebuilding process, Hills added.

Benchmark Builders of Gates visited the town soon after the incident to hand out gift and grocery cards to residents and give them information about insurance and rebuilding, she said.

“It was great to have a contractor here to help out and connect with people with integrity,” Hills said.

A lot of residents have insurance, but the company wanted to make sure they had all the information they needed after the disaster, said Jim Clough, owner of Benchmark Builders.

“In general we found people were pretty well taken care of,” Clough said. “The town is just crawling with contractors desperate for work.”

Benchmark Builders – as well as a host of other companies – left business cards at City Hall, but Clough’s firm hasn’t gotten any contracts in the area. Three employees donated about 15 hours of their time helping out residents after the tornado hit, he said.

“I certainly could use the work, but I don’t do remodeling,” Clough said. “I’m glad that residents seem to be getting the help they need.”

Dalke Construction of Salem has been working on city buildings in the town and has been extremely helpful during the repair process, Hills added.

Paul Davis Restoration of Wilsonville has picked up some work in the area repairing and cleaning up damage. Workers from the company have seen a significant amount of structure damage, and some water and mold problems, said Gen Abell, the office manager.

“We have two or three jobs going on down there right now,” Abell said.

Private donations have provided about $30,000 to help residents of the town deal with the damage. That money has mostly gone to help people pay for insurance deductibles, Hills said.

“People are so thankful,” Hills said. “In this economy getting $1,000 to help with the deductible is really a blessing. A lot of people just don’t have enough to get rebuilding started without it.”

Despite the hardship, Hills also said she hasn’t heard of a single person that wants to leave the area.

“Efforts to rebuild here will probably take months, and while it may take a while to get back to normal, we know we’re going to come back as a town – better than before,” Hills said.