On Sat. July 10th, Southeast Missouri experienced a series of severe weather events, along with an EF2 tornado touching down and damaging parts of Stoddard County.
According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, the tornado’s path was 5.5 miles long and the force of its winds reached 120 miles per hour.
The storm caused damage to at least 150 homes, tearing off shingles and siding, knocking over trees, and leaving over 1,600 homes in Dexter and Essex out of power according to Ameren Missouri.
Another location which experienced damage from the EF-2 tornado was the Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County, in Dexter, MO.
Various parts of the building were impacted, resulting in roof leaks, power losses, and broken utilities.
Structural engineers have assessed and evaluated the building damages and repair plans are in progress.
Moving forward, it is SoutheastHEALTH’s goal to restore Emergency Services operations as soon as possible, and repair other assets like damaged front doors, restore Lab and Radiology services, and reopen the Behavioral Health Unit and Inpatient/Same Day Infusion Services which were also impacted.
In the meantime, the closest ER departments are in Poplar Bluff and Sikeston, both about 20 miles from Dexter. A Command Center has been set up at the Dexter hospital, and will remain an active resource until all hospital and clinic services are back to full function.
Tornado victims seeking further information on how to safely return to their homes and clean or repair their homes after the event of a tornado can visit tornado safety on redcross.org, and visit the disaster relief section of the site to learn about how to prepare for the event of any severe weather.
