Chief of Police McCall talks Carl Junction storm damage
A tornado was confirmed.
The National Weather Service has conducted its damage survey from the Easter Sunday storms and it was confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down north of Galena, Kansas, before crossing over to Missouri west of Bellville. The tornado continued northeast through Carl Junction before lifting near the intersection of County Road 210 and H Highway in northern Jasper County.
Thankfully, no major injuries were reported.
“No, actually we were very lucky that with the damage that did occur, we did not receive any reports of injuries except for one person who had fallen, but that was inside their house and was not storm related,” Carl Junction Chief of Police Mark McCall said. “So, overall, with all the damage that happened, we’re very fortunate that we did not have the injuries.”
While there were no injuries from the storm reported, there was damage throughout the path of the storm. Aside from downed limps and uprooted trees, there was debris scattered, roofs blown off of buildings, structural damage and broken windows. If you are assessing the damage to your home, McCall said to be extra careful, particularly if you’re climbing into your roof.
“If you’re working at an elevated position, you need to take precautions,” McCall said. “You know, insurance companies and everything recommend that you do have a tie-off system in case you do slip or something, you don’t fall all the way to the ground. Of course, wear gloves when you’re dealing with any type of debris or anything.
“Most of the common injuries we get reports of are if there’s roof damage, nails going through people’s shoes. If it’s metal, when they go to pick it up or something, it slices them because of the jagged edges. There are people who get up on their roofs and it’s not quite stable and they fall and that creates injuries in itself.”
When the chips are down, Southwest Missouri knows how to lend a helping hand. If you are interested in volunteering to help the clean-up job in Carl Junction, McCall asks that you check in at City Hall first.
“We do ask that if you want to volunteer, you check in at our City Hall,” McCall said. “And that’s just so they can get a name. And for tracking purposes, if FEMA or the state emergency management agency wants any tracking of hours and who worked and volunteered and everything. That’s not a requirement, just a request that we have. Also, we let residents know that if they have a need for volunteers, they can also let us know at City Hall and we can get their name on a list. And as volunteers that are capable of helping them, we give their names to them.”