Homeless shelter working around leaking roof damaged in Feb. 7 storm

A Feb. 7 storm tore about 500 feet of roofing from the Amen Center in Delta, center operator Danny Hollowell said, and that’s led to flooding at the faith-based homeless shelter.

Laborers lift the top layer of a floor Friday to work to repair flooding damage at the Amen Center in Delta.KASSI JACKSON

Hollowell said the storm damage is bad enough, but when it rains, “you’d need a raincoat” to enter some areas of the building — a former elementary school.

And, he said, water was about ankle-deep in some places.

“It wasn’t good,” he said. “We’re hoping it won’t rain.”

The top layer of the floor in the main hallway of the Amen Center is lifted Friday to work to repair flooding damage at the Amen Center in Delta.KASSI JACKSON

The roof over the church, gym, and one end of the building was torn off in the storm, Hollowell said, but the ceiling is still in place.

National Weather Service meteorologist Derrick Snyder said that storm produced no tornadoes, but did produce straight-line wind damage with speeds up to 75 miles per hour.

The same storm system caused a train derailment in Dexter, Missouri, and caused power outages.

After the storm, a construction company put up plastic sheeting at the Amen Center, which has helped, Hollowell said, but it’s a temporary fix.

A cross is illuminated amidst pews Friday in the chapel space at the Amen Center in Delta.KASSI JACKSON

It would be best to have the roof repaired, he said, and the center does have insurance. Bids are turned in, Hollowell said. In the meantime, “We’re taking up what’s really ruined, and waiting to see what the weather will do, too.”

It doesn’t make sense to start tearing off damaged pieces only for the weather to turn again and cause more damage, Hollowell said.

The center houses 47 people currently, Hollowell said, and several of them are pitching in to help take up flooring, and related work, such as moving furniture out of the way.

A laborer lifts the top layer of the floor Friday to work to repair flooding damage at the Amen Center in Delta.KASSI JACKSON

Volunteers from the community are helping, too, he said, and that is welcome, as are donations.

Under the flooring, there’s concrete, and that’s still in good shape, Hollowell said, and the furniture wasn’t hurt.

“If it doesn’t rain any more or do anything else, we’ll probably be OK,” Hollowell said Friday morning, although a snowstorm was predicted for Friday afternoon into Saturday morning.

Laborers lift the top layer of a floor Friday to work to repair flooding damage at the Amen Center in Delta.KASSI JACKSON

Right now, the major issue is making sure the residents are housed safely, he said.

“I’ve had to turn people away because of it, and I don’t like doing that,” Hollowell said. “I have to work on the building, and I can’t work on it when people are in there.”

Once the roof is repaired, a major hurdle will be cleared, Hollowell said.

The front doors of the Amen Center are seen Friday in Delta.KASSI JACKSON

“Every day it rains, it leaks somewhere else,” Hollowell said, and the plan is to keep ahead of any mold growth.

The center doesn’t have standing water, right now, Hollowell said.

“It’s just going to have to dry out,” he said.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630