Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Miracle no one was killed
 |
| Marlyin Robert stands inside the basement of her mother Edna Kuper’s home in rural Hazleton. This was all that remained after it was hit by the tornado that tore through the upper part of Buchanan County Sunday night. |
By Jack Swanson
HAZLETON — Gone, gone, gone, heavy damage, gone, gone, damage, gone……
That’s the way the map reads from Buchanan County Emergency Management that maps out the course of the tornado that hit the Hazleton area, Sunday night. Of course, it is describing the homes that are located along the path of destruction.
According to BCEM Director Rick Wulfekuhle, at least 89 homes in Buchanan County were damaged in the storm.
Of these 89, 15 homes were totally destroyed. He also reported that at least 56 homes had major damage and 18 minor. He pointed out that 50 of the homes were inside the Hazleton city limits and another 39 were located in the rural area.
It also destroyed three Hazleton businesses; Steil Welding at 208 Main St., Horkheimer Homes at 208 Madison St., and Michels Trucking at 1230 Jackson Ave.
Wulfekuhle said that the report he received from the National Weather Service said the tornado cut a path three quarters of a mile wide along County Road C57 as far south as 140th Street (about two miles), from near the Buchanan-Black Hawk County line and ending just past the Stanley turnoff.
“It seemed to follow a fairly straight path all through the county. It’s ‘caps’ were maxing out the radar and we had some reports of hail the size of baseballs,” Wulfekuhle said.
“It’s an absolute miracle that no lives were lost when you look at the extent of damage,” Wulfekuhle went on to say.
He reported that the tornado was rated a EF 3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which measures the strength of tornadoes.
He also credits the warning they got from media coverage and from Black Hawk County in helping to keep people out of harms way.
“We knew what was coming and that gave us an extra 20 minutes to warn people and I felt that was a lifetime. We put our spotter out all along the western tier and that it was probably before we would normally send them out. We started sounding the sirens right away,” he explained.
Wulfekuhle said he did hear of at least five people being treated for minor injuries because of the storm, but none of them had to be hospitalized.
“We had to send the Jaws of Life down south of town (Hazleton) where a car had flipped into the ditch, but the driver walked away once she was freed from the wreckage. I felt that was huge. I guess some of it was luck and some of it was the grace of God,” he said.
Wulfekuhle also told about tDean and Angela Tournier and their two daughters, who had their home completely cave in on them.
“They were trapped but we got them out okay,” Wulfekuhle reported.
One could basically follow the path of the violent storm and see the wide swath it cut while driving along C57 east of Hazleton. Trees looked as if a giant hand had come down and twisted them off like so many blades of grass and pieces of sheet metal, wagon wheels, boards and other debri were spread across bare fields, looking as if a bomb had exploded and sent them flying in all directions.
“Roofs and outbuildings are gone everywhere. There will be some major work for quite some time to complete the repairs. There’s a lot of emotion out there right now too. A lot of people lost a lot of belongings,” he said.
One of those people was Marlyin Robert. She was in the basement of her mother, Edna Kuper’s home at 1237 Lawrence Ave., about two miles east of Hazleton, Tuesday, trying to find things she could salvage.
“Thank God she wasn’t here. We don’t even know where the house is,” Robert said as she picked among the ruins.
Her mother is currently living at Grandview Healthcare Center in Oelwein. Robert lives in Wilton. She said several of her friends from the area called her and told her that her mother’s house had been destroyed.
“Even though they warned me, I was devastated. I actually collapsed when I saw it. You just can’t believe what you’re seeing. Beside the house, there were also two large machine sheds, a pump house, a garage and a bin that are all gone. There’s no sign of any of them,” she said.
Robert lived at the house herself for part of her life and said it contained many momentos and keepsakes.
“I’m trying to find the family Bible that my ancestors brought over from Holland. I found a small part of it but that’s all,” she said, standing inside the basement that was partially filled with pieces of various debris.
“If anyone had been here, they would have been sucked out or crushed,” she commented.
Wulfekuhle also pointed out that the residents of Lamont were suffering from their own particular aspect of the storm.
“A secondary cell dropped eight inches of rain on them. We have about 240 homes that are affected and 190 of them actually had water standing inside their houses,” he reported, saying that flash flooding occurred when the South Fork of the Maquoketa River spilled over its banks.
He said that FEMA and the State would be sending out disaster teams to review the damage and should be in the area at least by today, Wednesday.
“I want people to know that they will be eligible for disaster relief even if they are not insured. We will be setting up disaster recovery centers for full applications,” he said.
He also reminded residents that the Red Cross and Salvation Army are also offering assistance. He said the number to contact for the Red Cross is 319-393-3500.
“The Red Cross is offering shelter but we don’t know of anybody needing it right now. Most of the families who lost homes are staying with friends or other family members,” he said.
He said at least 80 people have signed up as volunteers. “I’d say you could probably double that figure for throughout the county. They are donating equipment, food, services and goods of all kinds,” he said.
Wulfekuhle also wanted to point out the “unsung heroes.”
“The power companies restored the power by 12:30 Monday morning. I don’t know how they did it. That was huge in terms of a safety aspect,” he said.
Buchanan County Supervisors have officially declared the areas hit by the storm as disaster areas. Wulfekuhle encourages sightseers to stay out of the area due to downed electrical lines.
That’s the way the map reads from Buchanan County Emergency Management that maps out the course of the tornado that hit the Hazleton area, Sunday night. Of course, it is describing the homes that are located along the path of destruction.
According to BCEM Director Rick Wulfekuhle, at least 89 homes in Buchanan County were damaged in the storm.
Of these 89, 15 homes were totally destroyed. He also reported that at least 56 homes had major damage and 18 minor. He pointed out that 50 of the homes were inside the Hazleton city limits and another 39 were located in the rural area.
It also destroyed three Hazleton businesses; Steil Welding at 208 Main St., Horkheimer Homes at 208 Madison St., and Michels Trucking at 1230 Jackson Ave.
Wulfekuhle said that the report he received from the National Weather Service said the tornado cut a path three quarters of a mile wide along County Road C57 as far south as 140th Street (about two miles), from near the Buchanan-Black Hawk County line and ending just past the Stanley turnoff.
“It seemed to follow a fairly straight path all through the county. It’s ‘caps’ were maxing out the radar and we had some reports of hail the size of baseballs,” Wulfekuhle said.
“It’s an absolute miracle that no lives were lost when you look at the extent of damage,” Wulfekuhle went on to say.
He reported that the tornado was rated a EF 3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which measures the strength of tornadoes.
He also credits the warning they got from media coverage and from Black Hawk County in helping to keep people out of harms way.
“We knew what was coming and that gave us an extra 20 minutes to warn people and I felt that was a lifetime. We put our spotter out all along the western tier and that it was probably before we would normally send them out. We started sounding the sirens right away,” he explained.
Wulfekuhle said he did hear of at least five people being treated for minor injuries because of the storm, but none of them had to be hospitalized.
“We had to send the Jaws of Life down south of town (Hazleton) where a car had flipped into the ditch, but the driver walked away once she was freed from the wreckage. I felt that was huge. I guess some of it was luck and some of it was the grace of God,” he said.
Wulfekuhle also told about tDean and Angela Tournier and their two daughters, who had their home completely cave in on them.
“They were trapped but we got them out okay,” Wulfekuhle reported.
One could basically follow the path of the violent storm and see the wide swath it cut while driving along C57 east of Hazleton. Trees looked as if a giant hand had come down and twisted them off like so many blades of grass and pieces of sheet metal, wagon wheels, boards and other debri were spread across bare fields, looking as if a bomb had exploded and sent them flying in all directions.
“Roofs and outbuildings are gone everywhere. There will be some major work for quite some time to complete the repairs. There’s a lot of emotion out there right now too. A lot of people lost a lot of belongings,” he said.
One of those people was Marlyin Robert. She was in the basement of her mother, Edna Kuper’s home at 1237 Lawrence Ave., about two miles east of Hazleton, Tuesday, trying to find things she could salvage.
“Thank God she wasn’t here. We don’t even know where the house is,” Robert said as she picked among the ruins.
Her mother is currently living at Grandview Healthcare Center in Oelwein. Robert lives in Wilton. She said several of her friends from the area called her and told her that her mother’s house had been destroyed.
“Even though they warned me, I was devastated. I actually collapsed when I saw it. You just can’t believe what you’re seeing. Beside the house, there were also two large machine sheds, a pump house, a garage and a bin that are all gone. There’s no sign of any of them,” she said.
Robert lived at the house herself for part of her life and said it contained many momentos and keepsakes.
“I’m trying to find the family Bible that my ancestors brought over from Holland. I found a small part of it but that’s all,” she said, standing inside the basement that was partially filled with pieces of various debris.
“If anyone had been here, they would have been sucked out or crushed,” she commented.
Wulfekuhle also pointed out that the residents of Lamont were suffering from their own particular aspect of the storm.
“A secondary cell dropped eight inches of rain on them. We have about 240 homes that are affected and 190 of them actually had water standing inside their houses,” he reported, saying that flash flooding occurred when the South Fork of the Maquoketa River spilled over its banks.
He said that FEMA and the State would be sending out disaster teams to review the damage and should be in the area at least by today, Wednesday.
“I want people to know that they will be eligible for disaster relief even if they are not insured. We will be setting up disaster recovery centers for full applications,” he said.
He also reminded residents that the Red Cross and Salvation Army are also offering assistance. He said the number to contact for the Red Cross is 319-393-3500.
“The Red Cross is offering shelter but we don’t know of anybody needing it right now. Most of the families who lost homes are staying with friends or other family members,” he said.
He said at least 80 people have signed up as volunteers. “I’d say you could probably double that figure for throughout the county. They are donating equipment, food, services and goods of all kinds,” he said.
Wulfekuhle also wanted to point out the “unsung heroes.”
“The power companies restored the power by 12:30 Monday morning. I don’t know how they did it. That was huge in terms of a safety aspect,” he said.
Buchanan County Supervisors have officially declared the areas hit by the storm as disaster areas. Wulfekuhle encourages sightseers to stay out of the area due to downed electrical lines.
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of communitynewspapergroup.com.
