Greenwood County officials revise damage count from Eureka tornado to 143 structures

Greenwood County Emergency Management on Saturday revised its count of the total number of structures damaged from Thursday’s tornado in Eureka to 143.

Of those, 29 were destroyed, 20 sustained major damage, 30 had minor damage and 64 were affected in some other way, said Levi Vinson, Greenwood County Emergency Management director.

Cleanup from Thursday’s tornado continued on Saturday and was progressing swiftly, Vinson said.

“We still have a lot of cleanup ahead of us,” he said. “The first phase of the cleanup process should be done tomorrow, removing tree debris. Then, the construction/demolition phase will begin.”

On Saturday, the American Red Cross Midway Kansas Chapter announced it would open a “multi-agency resource center” on Sunday at the Eureka Community Activity Center, 815 N. Jefferson. It will be open from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday.

A news release from the Red Cross said trained caseworkers will help affected people in Eureka “create personal recovery plans, navigate paperwork and locate assistance for their specific disaster-caused needs, such as housing information, groceries, clothing, medicine, household items, cleanup support and financial assistance.”

Agencies who can offer more long-term help, such as with rebuilding assistance or tree removal, will also be available, according to the release.

“Already, this community has pulled together to help their neighbors affected by the tornado and the agencies participating in the MARC will continue to be here to help people in the weeks and months to come,” Executive Director Michelle Jantz said in the release.

Vinson encouraged affected residents to take advantage of the free service.

An EF-2 tornado ripped through northern Eureka late Thursday night, causing extensive damage in that part of town.

Power had largely been restored in the region by Saturday evening after a large portion of the affected areas went without power late Thursday into Friday.

This story was originally published July 9, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Greenwood County officials revise damage count from Eureka tornado to 143 structures."