The Springfield News-Leader from Springfield, Missouri • Page 6

TORNADOES NEWS-LEADER 6A Wednesday, January 9, 2008 i. i "y'-J1 V- I JESS HEUGEL NEWS-LEADER Rosemary Bane shows where a tree limb smashed a window just feet from where TornadoSeveral she slept during Monday night's tornadic counties 'f ji ttjsr jr If i i Aftermath essentials Recording damage A hotline has now been set up for reporting damage to the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management. The number is 829-6100. Hotline operators will take the calls and record information. They will ask for information such as type and extent of damage, insurance agent and company contact information, type of property such as residential or business, and comments regarding personal loss or injury if not previously reported.

The information will be collected to help officials assess the overall damage of the Monday storms. Do not call the hotline for shelter or transportation information. Those calls should be directed to the Red Cross at 832-9500. Citizens can call the hotline to report people with special needs in the home to help determine where to send them. Blast from past Rebecca Dula got two News-Leaders Tuesday when she walked out to her driveway on West Seminole Street.

There was Tuesday's News-Leader but there also was a News-Leader from 1989. "It must have come from somebody's attic or garage during the storm," she said. Possible scams The Better Business Bureau of Southwest Missouri warns consumers about possible scams and con artists who may move into the area looking to prey on residents with homes suffering tree damage and debris-scat- tered yards due to the recent tornadoes and strong storms. Consumers and businesses are urged to be vigilant in doing their homework prior to hiring any goods or services in any situation. Particularly during this time of natural disaster status there is a sense of urgency to rush out, clean-up and put things back as they were.

Be cautious of contractors or companies who enter town just to offer their services during this time of need. Ask for references and licensing information on companies with which you are considering to do business. Though these steps may add to the time it takes to make crucial repairs, it will save you time and money in the long run. For more information about researching companies before doing business, contact the BBB of Southwest Missouri at 862-4222 or start with www.southwestmis-souri.bbb.org. Insurance claims If your property has damage from the recent storm, Allstate Insurance Company recommends consumers regardless of the company they are insured with take the following steps to begin the claim process: Report your insurance claim as soon as possible, no matter what the level of damage.

Insurance companies need to get a good idea of the amount and kind of damage so they can adequately respond to customer needs. If possible, have your auto insurance, homeowner insurance andor renter's insurance policy number available when you report your claim. Take pictures as you clean up. Make an inventory list of all damaged contents. Keep a sample of items such as carpet and upholstery for your claim adjuster.

If your home is unlivable, your insurance may provide coverage for you to stay in a hotel or purchase food and clothing. Hollister debris The city of Hollister will have a central collection point for trees and limbs downed by the severe storm Monday night. Trees and limbs only can be taken to a point on the south side of Hollister Parkway and the east side of Birch Street. This area will be marked by a Hollister Police patrol car and signs. The city will make arrangements to dispose of the trees and limbs.

Residents who want to burn the debris must notify the Western Taney County fire Protection District at 334-3440. The burn pile cannot be bigger than 5-foot by-5-foot. UW Jii DEAN CURTIS NEWS-LEADER Monday night's tornado cut a swath of destruction north of Strafford. These trees are at the the property of Larry Stephens who lives on Farm Road 205. Continued from Page LA It was preceded by an EF-1 tornado that touched down in the heart of Springfield, collapsing part of the Harry Cooper Supply warehouse and damaging several more buildings.

The tornado, packing 100 mph winds, lifted just east of the Glen-stoneChestnut intersection, toppling the tall Krispy Kreme sign as it went. An EF-3 tornado with winds of 150 mph destroyed the rural Strafford home of Rachel Lawson, 85. She died from a critical head injury. The same storm hit near Marshfield, killing Nancy Green, 53, when she went back into her mobile home to rescue a pet. At least 35 people were sent to area hospitals, including two with critical injuries.

Springfield City Utilities crews worked to restore power to about 10,000 customers who lost electricity from downed power lines and flying debris. By late Tuesday CU had cut that number to about 2,000 customers. CU provides electricity to about 106,000 customers. Jenny Edwards, spokeswoman for Greene County, said 20 homes in Springfield had minor to moderate damage. She said three homes were destroyed in Republic, 14 had major damage and 33 had minor damage.

Near Strafford, at least two tornadoes destroyed 11 homes, caused major damage to four and minor damage to 10, Edwards said. "Several dozen homes were significantly damaged or destroyed," near Marshfield, according to Deana Fishel, spokeswoman for the Webster County Emergency Management Office. She didn't yet have a final tally of the destruction late Tuesday. She said search crews Tuesday afternoon were still going door to door looking for injured people and tallying the damage. In Christian County, at least six homes were severely damaged, with more reports of damage coming in from rural areas, according to Emergency management Director Phil Am-tower.

In Barry County, a tornado hit a mobile home park, destroying 19. Three homes also were significantly damaged, according to Emergency Management Director David Compton. Compton said he watched the tornado from his office as it moved across the south side of Monett. Monett took the hit from the very first storm about 5:30 p.m. The county sounded eight or nine tornado warnings during the length of the storm, he said.

According to Compton, the tornado crushed when the garage gave way. "It don't have a bit of hail damage," he observed, wryly. The storm was similarly fickle on Village Lane, off Missouri 38 northwest of Marshfield. "It's funny how it takes some stuff and leaves others," said Will Fuller, whose home suffered significant damage in the storm. A house to the south ot Fuller's was destroyed, as was one across the street to the east where Fuller and his wife, Bren-da, sheltered with other neighbors in a basement.

"We were watching the Do storm that went through Springfield. damaged crossing, the tornado that killed Green demolished a farmhouse and destroyed several other mobile homes in the park where she lived. Neighbors Tony and Fran Wells and their teenage son weathered the storm in the ditch, after driving to a nearby culvert to take shelter. "We thought it had passed (but) as soon as we started to drive home, the wind and rain started coming in sideways," Tony Wells said. The family bailed out of their car into ditches on either side of the road the culvert was only 20 feet away but invisible in the darkness, he said.

"We just rode it out in the ditch," he said. "I just held onto my son and tree limbs were falling on us." Their home, unlike Green's or their landlord's, was largely intact. But it wasn't until they returned Tuesday morning after staying the night at a shelter in Marshfield that they realized it had been pushed four feet off its concrete pad. West of the interstate, neighbors on Quail Creek Road woke early to help salvage anything of value from the space where Brian and Tiffany Harrington's home once stood. Tiffany Harrington and her teenage son were home when the tornado struck about 7 p.m., said neighbor Brandon Speakes.

"They came running over and they said their house was gone," Speakes said. "I thought maybe they were just in shock, but then the lightning would flash and all you'd see was debris and flat land." The house was wiped clean off its foundation. Paul Speakes, Brandon's father, said he didn't know how the Harringtons survived. Tiffany Harrington was taken to the hospital with several cracked ribs and a head laceration, he said, but her son was mostly unharmed. Neighbors on Tuesday took time away from patching their own homes to pick clothing from the debris and launder it for the Harringtons.

"We got up at 7 a.m. trying to save as much as we could," Paul Speakes said, shaking his head and gesturing toward his own home across the street, largely undamaged. "I still cannot believe how lucky I am." pier radar on TV about 6 p.m. W. Fuller and saw it coming our way," he Stephens touched down about 2-mile west of BB and Missouri 37.

"We were lucky because it took a relatively narrow path and it wasn't on the ground very long. It could have been worse," he said. As it was, the tornado hit Midway Mobile Home park and destroyed the 19 mobile homes and one house there. No one was injured. Compton said three or four families lived there.

Terror Strafford Residents in the Strafford area on Tuesday recalled moments of terror as they hid in basement storm shelters and closets as the twister hit. Brian Brooks drove up from Arkansas to see his cousin, Brett Sodden, the principal of Strafford High School. Hearing reports of hail, Brooks moved his 1994 Chevy Tahoe into Sod-den's garage. As the tornado hit, Brooks and several relatives headed into the home's concrete storm shelter. "It came so quick," he recalled.

"I was hanging onto the doorknob for dear life because it was trying to suck that door right out of there." After the tornado passed, they noticed an unusual odor. "When you first walked out the door you could smell the cedar trees that had snapped," he said. "I knew it was bad." Sodden's home was ripped apart. Rain water still poured through the ceilings and floors nearly 18 hours after the twister hit. And Brooks' Chevy Tahoe? It was entrance to said.

"We came out the front door and we could hear the tornado coming it chased us across the street." The tornado ripped the roof from the house and sent splinters of wood and other debris through the basement ceiling, but no one was hurt, Will Fuller said. "It's an unbelievable sound, and then the house coming down around you," he said. "We're lucky everybody is safe. Houses can be fixed." With help from their sons and other friends, the Fullers covered their damaged roof and broken windows Tuesday morning. "It's all trashed," he said.

"The house is all full of water and projectiles from next door But about all of our clothes are dry. We've just got to pack them up and take them with us." Inside and out, signs of the storm's random nature were everywhere. Glass from shattered windows cov ered still-made beds. In one room, the couple's wedding picture had been ripped from the wall and was nowhere to be found. "It's got our names on it, so maybe someone will find it and we'll get it back," Brenda Fuller B.

Fuller said. In the same room, her husband pointed to a small angel statue that stood untouched near the broken window. "It makes you wonder how it didn't get sucked right out." Some of the worst damage in the county occurred northeast of Marshfield, near the 107 mile marker where Sampson Road crosses Interstate 44. About two miles northeast of the 1 AMOS BRIDGES NEWS-LEADER The remains of a house are near Ouail Creek Drive east of Marshfield. A woman in the house was hospitalized but neighbors worked Tuesday to salvage belongings..