The unincorporated community of Tornado is going through some changes.
“The U.S. Geological Survey, an official agency of the federal government, has decided to change the name of Tornado, which was originally named in 1899,” said Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper.
This week, the commission received a letter from the federal agency stating that the community of over a thousand people will now be called Upper Falls
At Thursday night’s commission meeting, Carper addressed a packed courtroom filled with area residents, local delegates, and representatives of state lawmakers upset over the change and seeking answers.
Carper said this weeks letter was the first they had heard about it even though the agency claims they sent a another letter last year.
“They claimed they sent us a letter in September when they did this,” said Carper. “We can’t find the letter and their is a rumor that maybe it went to Lincoln County
Carper was told that the change came after Robert Thompson, a resident of the area, petitioned the U.S. Geological Survey’s place names division to change the name Tornado to Upper Falls
The details into exactly why Thompson wanted the change was not known since the he failed to attend Thursday’s meeting.
Carper said this isn’t right and the commission is going to send a letter requesting the name be changed back immediately.
“The communities overwhelmingly oppose the idea and so does the county commission,” said Carper.
Representatives for U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, and Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito voiced their support for the letter asking for the name to be changed back.
