'Tornado took it all'

~ Relief agencies assess damage as Perry County residents pick up the pieces.

CROSSTOWN, Mo. -- Sunlight poured into Wanda and Edwin Weibrecht's roofless kitchen Monday. The makeshift skylight provided a nice view but was a grim reminder of the destruction caused by Friday's tornado that swept through Crosstown.

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., has classified the tornado an F3, but a final intensity rating has not yet been determined. The tornado was the strongest September storm on record -- a record unofficially going back to 1880 -- in the 58 counties assigned to the Paducah office of the National Weather Service.

Officials with the State Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived in Crosstown on Monday. FEMA will be in town for several days to do preliminary damage assessments, said Charles Stubbs, an official with FEMA. After the assessments are complete, FEMA will make a decision about what type of assistance is needed in Crosstown.

"It will all depend on what's found during the initial assessments," said Dawn Kinsey, with FEMA's external affairs office.

After living on Route C in the eastern Perry County town for more than 20 years, the Weibrechts are packing up and moving to nearby Perryville. "We have nothing left. The tornado took it all," said Wanda.

On Monday friends and family members helped the Weibrechts and other Crosstown residents gather up any salvageable belongings. Most of Weibrechts' property was damaged by heavy rains after their roof was blown off.

The couple sought shelter in their fruit cellar during the tornado.

"We just barely made it down there," Wanda said. "We would have been killed if we would have stayed upstairs for two more minutes."

Six Crosstown residents suffered minor injuries in the tornado, but no one was killed. Friday afternoon's stormy weather was blamed for 11 deaths in the Midwest.

The Weibrechts' grandson, Steven Roberts, was at his parents' Crosstown home the night of the tornado. His own house, which is next door to the Weibrechts' home, was one of the 63 homes destroyed by the winds. His parents' home suffered minor damage.

"I was lucky I was in their house that night instead of mine. I had stopped by to check my messages, and then it hit. It sounded like an Air Force base was having a moving day," Roberts said.

A section of Roberts' roof was blown away. Many of his belongings will be thrown away, he said.

"Everything's getting moldy since the rain got in there. My electronics are all shot. Best thing I can do is bulldoze it down," Roberts said.

The 44-year-old man was born and raised in Crosstown. He has no plans to move away. "It's going to take a little more than a puff of wind to get me out of here," he said.

Today the American Red Cross will move its operations to the Lutheran school in Farrar, five miles south of Crosstown. The agency has been operating out of the Zion Lutheran Church in Crosstown.

The Southeast chapter of the Red Cross will begin individual casework for residents on Wednesday to determine what type of assistance is needed, said volunteer Cyndi Underwood. The Red Cross has placed about 20 residents who have nowhere to go in Perryville hotels. A majority of Crosstown residents are staying with friends and family members.

"There are 200 people in this community, and almost all of them were affected by this tornado," Underwood said.

Debra Schultz hid in her living room closet during the tornado. Her roof collapsed and several walls of her 200-year-old house fell down.

"It was pretty horrifying. The house was shaking and rumbling. I could feel myself going up in that tornado, but I just held on as tight as I could," Schultz said.

Across the road from Schultz, Jennifer Pingel's two-story house slid down a hill where most of her family's belongings are scattered.

"I can't find my wedding dress and wedding album. Most of the stuff we can replace, but those two things are irreplaceable," Pingel said.

Perry County emergency management director Jack Lakenan said the cleanup from the tornado is going well even though the county is still recovering from the March 11 tornado that destroyed and damaged more than 20 homes near St. Mary.

"We've been drawing on a lot of experience," Lakenan said.

Gov. Matt Blunt, who declared a state of emergency in areas severely impacted by the storm, will tour Crosstown this morning. After SEMA and FEMA complete initial damage assessments, Blunt is expected to ask for federal assistance.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246