Falls City recovering from 'serial derecho'

FALLS CITY – Richardson County Emergency Manager Brian Kirkendall estimates damage from last week’s storm to be in excess of $2 million.

He told county commissioners Tuesday  there is damage to public and private buildings, including large machine sheds, grain bins and buildings in town. He said there are also emergency expenses for utilities to restore electrical service.

Kirkendall: “The damage was all across Richardson County. Every place we went in Richardson County, the damage has been very similar of a 90 mph winds throughout the county.”

The National Weather Service called the Dec. 15 storms a “serial derecho.”

Kirkendall: “The reason they classified it as that is because of the length of time that wind kept blowing at those high rates of speed. One place here in Richardson County that emergency management was able to gauge the wind we gauged it at 92 mph and we were around that speed for 30 or 40 minutes.”

He said it was a challenge to sort through multiple calls and devising action plans.

Kirkendall said there are some buildings that stood up well to the wind and others with surprising damage, but the resiliency of the people is a constant.

Kirkendall: “The very next day I saw people out. They were cutting up limbs, clearing limbs. They were helping their neighbors. They were helping each other. That just never ceases to amaze us how fast things get cleaned up.”

An EF-1 tornado with winds of 105 mph was confirmed southwest of Pawnee City and another tornado was confirmed near Dubois.

The National Weather Service says at least 45 tornadoes were confirmed amid unseasonably warm temperatures.