Tornado destroys homes, businesses in Vernon County, Missouri
Updated: 9:13 PM CDT Apr 2, 2025
NOW. WELL, WE ARE GETTING NEW VIDEO TONIGHT OF TORNADO STORM DAMAGE ACROSS PARTS OF MISSOURI. YOU’RE LOOKING AT VIDEO FROM NEWS CHOPPER NINE OVER NEVADA, MISSOURI, SOUTH OF THE CITY IN VERNON COUNTY, AFTER AN EF ONE TORNADO HIT THE TOWN. GOOD EVENING, I AM BRYA BERRY. CLEANUP EFFORTS ARE WELL UNDERWAY AFTER THAT TORNADO DESTROYED SEVERAL HOMES AND BUSINESSES. KMBC NINE S JACKSON KURTZ IS IN VERNON COUNTY WITH MORE ON THE AFTERMATH. WELL, THESE STORMS THAT CAME THROUGH WERE CONTAINED TO ONE SECTION OF THE CITY, BUT STILL PRETTY DESTRUCTIVE, TAKING DOWN ANYTHING IN ITS PATH. HOMES, TREES, BUSINESSES. ONLY MINIMAL INJURIES AND NO ONE WAS KILLED. HOW DO YOU EVEN BEGIN? JUST TAKE IT ONE MINUTE AT A TIME. ONE STEP AT A TIME. YOU KNOW, JUST ONE PIECE AT A TIME TO CLEAN UP IN NEVADA AFTER STORMS RIPPED THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. BUT I NEVER BEEN IN THE MIDDLE OF IT LIKE THIS AND SEEN THE HORROR OF IT. I’M SORRY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT’S LOST A LOT OF THEIR LIVELIHOOD AND THEIR DREAMS HERE. IT’S QUITE A LOSS, A LOT OF WORK, AND IT’S ALL GONE. ELDRIDGE SNYDER IS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE. MY SIGN OVER. BUT MY FLAGPOLE DIDN’T GET BENT AT ALL. HE OWNED THE NEVADA OAKS MOTEL. IT HIT ME HARDER THAN ANYBODY IN TOWN. JUST KIND OF. THIS ONE SPOT HERE. HE HAD 53 STUDENTS FROM THE MISSOURI WELDING INSTITUTE STAYING HERE. I JUST HAD THIS PLACE TOTALLY REDONE. HAD IT JUST WHERE I WANTED IT. THANKFULLY, NO ONE WAS HURT. AND MUCH LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, HIT HARD BY MOTHER NATURE, IT’S NOW TIME TO CLEAN UP BIT BY BIT. I’M JUST GOING TO TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME HERE FROM NEVADA JACKSON KURTZ KMBC NINE NEWS. AS OF TONIGHT, THE VERNON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS NEARLY 1000 PEOPLE ARE STILL WITHOUT POWER. AT O
Cleanup is underway in Vernon County after a tornado destroyed several homes and businesses Wednesday morning.Volunteers and residents in Nevada, Missouri, are working to clear debris and salvage what they can from the wreckage.”Just take it one minute at a time. One step at a time, you know, just one piece at a time,” said volunteer Herbie Scholes as he helped with cleanup efforts.Scholes said witnessing the destruction up close was heartbreaking.”I never been in the middle of it like this and seen the horror of it,” he said. “I’m sorry for a lot of people that’s lost a lot of their livelihood and their dreams here.”One of the hardest hit properties was the Nevada Oaks Motel, owned by Eldridge Snyder. He said the tornado devastated his business.”It’s quite a loss. A lot of work. It’s all gone,” Snyder said.The motel had recently undergone renovations and was housing 53 students from the Missouri Welding Institute when the storm hit.”It hit me harder than anybody in town. Just kind of just one spot here,” Snyder said. “I just had this place totally redone, had it just where I wanted it.”Now, like many in the community, Snyder is beginning the long road to recovery.”Just going to take it one day at a time,” he said.The Vernon County Sheriff’s Office said nearly 1,000 people remain without power. At one point, more than 41,000 customers across the county were in the dark.
VERNON COUNTY, Mo. —Cleanup is underway in Vernon County after a tornado destroyed several homes and businesses Wednesday morning.
Volunteers and residents in Nevada, Missouri, are working to clear debris and salvage what they can from the wreckage.
“Just take it one minute at a time. One step at a time, you know, just one piece at a time,” said volunteer Herbie Scholes as he helped with cleanup efforts.
Scholes said witnessing the destruction up close was heartbreaking.
“I never been in the middle of it like this and seen the horror of it,” he said. “I’m sorry for a lot of people that’s lost a lot of their livelihood and their dreams here.”
One of the hardest hit properties was the Nevada Oaks Motel, owned by Eldridge Snyder. He said the tornado devastated his business.
“It’s quite a loss. A lot of work. It’s all gone,” Snyder said.
The motel had recently undergone renovations and was housing 53 students from the Missouri Welding Institute when the storm hit.
“It hit me harder than anybody in town. Just kind of just one spot here,” Snyder said. “I just had this place totally redone, had it just where I wanted it.”
Now, like many in the community, Snyder is beginning the long road to recovery.
“Just going to take it one day at a time,” he said.
The Vernon County Sheriff’s Office said nearly 1,000 people remain without power. At one point, more than 41,000 customers across the county were in the dark.
