Picking up pieces of destruction from tornado

Serenity Barron
Staff Writter

A tornado hit Sunset Hills on New Year’s Eve, leaving tree limbs and belongings scattered and condemned houses abandoned.

Over 1,000 people have volunteered at the destruction site with clean up; 120 people came out on New Year’s Eve. On the day a group of Webster Groves students came, there were 820 people; they had to start turning people away that weren’t registered after a certain point.

“Youth groups, church groups, schools and individuals” were there at the site working side by side to clear debris, said a volunteer.

Volunteers dissembled pieces of trees, cleared brush and leaves and threw away unsalvageable items. At the site huge dumpsters were filled to the brim with mangled pieces of houses and household items. The many volunteers contributed to clearing the grounds, in which were once completely covered in debris.

“It was just a good experience…I am glad I helped,” said freshman Tavion Grigs-Sanders.

The devastated neighborhood contained many condemned houses possessing a red X on the outside.  Some of these houses were lacking roofs. Inside a few of the houses were insurance calculators who were calculating what was left in the homes. The items left from the tornado would be credited to the amount of help the affected people were in need of. One of the insurance calculators was in the home of a “90 year old married couple, who were currently staying with their daughter,” for their home was condemned.

“The city is also doing needs assessments to determine who has insurance and who doesn’t,” said KMOX.com