Glorya Schow and her husband, LaMar Smith, held hands as they stood in what used to be their dining room.
Schow managed a brave smile as she pointed to a pile of bricks and glass, nearly thigh-high."That's where our dining room table used to be. That's where we would have been eating lunch yesterday if we hadn't gone out."
Fortunately, the couple decided to have lunch at a downtown restaurant Wednesday, even as a tornado descended on their Avenues home just after 1 p.m.
"We got in the car and heard on the radio that a twister had hit the Delta Center," Smith said. "We never imagined it would hit our home."
As they neared their neighborhood, they saw that other homes had been damaged. One belonged to one of their children, who told them they'd better go home and check on theirs.
When they arrived, they found their home had been ravaged by the winds. Their roof was completely torn away. Fragments were found in their front yard and in the yards of many of their neighbors. The back wall of the home had collapsed inward. Kitchen cabinets were ripped from their hinges, and an aluminum shed was lifted from the yard and deposited on the nearby hillside.
"We were devastated," Smith said as tears formed. "We just couldn't believe this could happen to us. We've enjoyed such a calm and satisfying life here."
Smith, 79, had built his home in 1959 and moved in with his first wife in early 1960. He had lived there ever since. He married Schow 12 years ago, after his first wife passed away.
"Luckily we were not here," Schow said, still clutching her husband's hand. "If we had been here, we would not be alive to talk to you today."
They were also fortunate to still be carrying their homeowner's insurance policy. Because their mortgage was paid off, the couple was not obligated to keep their policy current.
But for Schow and Smith, discontinuing their policy was not an option.
"We would never be without insurance," Schow said. "Because who would have thought a tornado would hit Utah?"
Mike Shurtliff, base manager for Venturi Flood and Fire Restoration, was supervising a 17-person crew responsible for the structural restoration of Schow and Smith's home.
It was one of 12 projects the company was handling as a result of Wednesday's tornado.
"I've seen damage like this, but not in this state," Shurtliff said.
Though preliminary damage estimates were ongoing, he said the cost to fix the home would be "several, several thousand dollars. Very costly."
Todd Roberts, claim manager for State Farm (the couple's insurer), said he was confident the damage easily exceeded $50,000. State Farm planned to issue Schow and Smith a check as an advance on their policy to cover living expenses and to pay for replacement clothes, food and other needs. Additional reimbursement would be distributed once the company formulated a more concrete damage assessment.
The couple's State Farm homeowner's policy did not require specific "tornado coverage," as opposed to the earthquake and flood coverage that is usually additional on homeowner's policies, Roberts said.
State Farm received more than 250 home claims and 75 vehicle claims Thursday, Roberts said. Preliminary numbers were still coming in, but spokeswoman Jennifer Brown said the company was anticipating about 500 claims for homes and 400 for vehicle damage. A multi-state catastrophe team was assembling Thursday and Friday to handle the heavy claim load.
Joe Gacioch, corporate relations manager for Allstate Insurance's Phoenix region -- which includes Utah -- reported that Allstate received 18 homeowner claims overnight Wednesday and 45 vehicle claims. Additional claims agents are responding from Arizona and Colorado, Gacioch said.
Brian Braddock of Farmers Insurance said Farmers received 30 home claims and 50 auto claims Thursday. None appeared to be complete losses, Braddock said, adding his crews were still on the streets assessing the damage.
MetLife Auto & Home spokesman Joe Madden said his company received fewer claims than they expected, primarily because it insures few homeowners in the Avenues area. All of their 30-plus claims, received overnight, were for damage to vehicles. Madden estimated the total dollar amount of all claims was $250,000.
Glorya Schow said the couple plans to use their policy reimbursement to rebuild their home.
"We'll probably find an apartment, and start again. We'll build from the ground up if we have to. This is our home. This is where LaMar has lived the last 40 years.
"We are strong people. We'll make it through this."