Chariton County deputies, residents clean up town following intense storms
CHARITON COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Brunswick residents are recovering after intense rain and wind entered the area on Tuesday morning.
Following the intense storms, members of Brunswick woke up to find tree branches blocking driveways, trees crashed into houses and the roof of First Christian Church blown off. More than 2,300 people were without power in Chariton County early Tuesday.
Brunswick resident Kobe Tatum woke up to the sound of a massive tree colliding with his house and a car.
"A tree limb fell down on top of the garage over there, and I opened up the door to this tree down over the car," Tatum said.
Fellow resident Walter Hester was also up early. After hearing the intensity of the storm, Walter has been out with his chainsaw, clearing out trees for his neighbors and emergency services.
"I just didn't even look at the clock, I just started grabbing tools and headed out," Hester said. "I live here, so I might as well take care of this city."
Chariton County Sheriff Erick Billups said that deputies have been on the scene across the county.
"It's kind of still early in all of this, so we're still trying to figure out everything," Billups said. "Obviously, we are working very close with the fire teams of the community to try to help however we can."
As of right now, the sheriff's office is working with town officials to survey the damage and plan out rebuilding efforts. The first priority was restoring power, which appeared to have been resolved by 8 p.m. according to outage maps for Ameren and the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.
