Businesses destroyed, homes damaged after severe storms blow through Nevada
NEVADA, Mo. (KCTV) - High winds and brief torrential rain pummeled parts of the Kansas City area on Wednesday morning. But the most significant damage was dealt in the southern part of the viewing area.
People in southern Missouri were left picking up the mess after a tornado caused significant damage.
The tornado touched down in Nevada, Missouri, tearing off roofs, blowing trucks over and destroying some homes and businesses.
Only one person was seriously injured, something emergency managers credit to the town’s siren system being activated almost instantly.
During a press conference, city officials said they’re lucky this wasn’t worse.
The city of Nevada, Missouri, was hit hard about 7:30 a.m. A Tornado Warning was issued at 7:15 a.m. for parts of Vernon County, including Nevada.
“It feels kind of like we just got ripped apart too,” said Shari Snyder. “It ripped through our building, it’s ripped through our lives.”
Snyder’s father owns Nevada Oaks -- a motel that’s been in the family for 15 years and hosts students from the Missouri Welding Institute.
Shari said they put their blood, sweat and tears into this business and never thought it would all be taken away by a tornado.
“When we pulled up to see it, I didn’t think it was going to be this bad, I really didn’t.”
Snyder said she picked up her father that morning from the motel and turned around once her maintenance guy said they’d been hit, bad.
When she came back, she was sadly greeted to debris scattered, rooms completely torn apart, roofs ripped off and cars parked out front smashed.
“We love our welders so getting up seeing them every day, that’s done and that’s the sad part,” she said.
Snyder’s newly renovated home right next door was also destroyed. She had just finished putting in a new bathroom and kitchen and planned to move in on Thursday. She wasn’t the only one who lost her home.
Rachelle Wolf was inside the motel when the tornado touched down. Wolf said she went into her bathroom and braced for the worst.
“I was actually in the bathtub when everything fell down into the bathtub,” Wolf said. “I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening.’ It’s all I could think.”
Just about all of her belongings were destroyed, but she was able to find her “mother of the bride” dress, still intact. Her daughter gets married later this month.
Just next door, welding student, Riley Worthem just got back from working a shift and was making breakfast before they were hit.
He said he and his two friends, who are also welding students, huddled up in the bathtub.
“Our door slammed right open, our bathroom door with all of us in there slammed wide open, we could hear the glass going all over the place,” he described, “It was hectic.”
Worthem said after looking at the destruction caused, he feels lucky to be alive
“Oh, 100% a miracle.”
The Missouri State Highway Patrol stated no fatalities have been reported following the severe weather in Nevada.
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