Southeast student recounts tornado ripping through Malden last month

Southeast student Tracie Manes was visiting home when an EF2 tornado touched down in Malden, Missouri, on Feb. 24, destroying homes and leaving debris in its path.

Manes, a senior at Southeast, happened to be staying with her family in Malden when the storm hit. Manes said she and her family knew there was going to be bad weather but did not know how bad.

She said her mother, father and herself were in different rooms when the storm hit.

"Out of nowhere it just went really quiet, and then the wind swept in," Manes said.

Around this time, she said, the electricity went off and before they knew what was happening, the storm had passed. Manes said she noticed car lights outside, and that's when she saw an uprooted tree across the street close to her house.

A tornado struck the southeast side of Malden on Feb. 24.JUSTIN MANN ~ Southeast Arrow

Her father went outside to see what had happened but it was too dark to see anything. After about an hour and a half, Manes said the electricity came back on. It wasn't until the next day she said they could see the extent of the damage.

She said her neighbor's roof was gone and their barn flattened. Multiple cars near her house were damaged as well. According to KFVS-12, 66 homes were damaged by the storm.

"We were some of the lucky few who didn't have any damage," Manes said.

The National Weather Service states an EF2 tornado contains winds speeds between 113 and 157 mph.

"We didn't really even have time to get up and move to another part of the house before it was through," Manes said.

The tornado hit the southeast side of Malden near East Laclede Street and Business Highway 25. The Southeast Malden regional campus was not affected by the storm.