A small South Dakota town was hit by a tornado in 2014. Fortunately the warning alerted residents just in time - likely saving many lives.
A decade later, the impact caused by the tornado continues to resonate.
Wessington Springs residents were alerted by the National Weather Service at 7:25 p.m. on June 18, 2014 of a tornado that would ripping through the heart of town 20 minutes later.
No one was killed, but many homes and buildings were destroyed.
Ten years later, a majority of those impacted continued to live and build in the area. Some residents, however, relocated after the tornado and never came back.
Dennis Scheel is a resident of Wessington Springs who lived through the tornado. He said the community support is what brought the small town back to life.
“Well, I just think one thing, the community held together and stuck together to help each other and stuff you know. Because some people didn’t have any damage, and the next person might have lost their home. But everybody helped everybody out, which was a good deal,” said Scheel.
Janice Bender is a Wessington Springs resident who lost her husband’s family home in the tornado. She said the response time of the town’s emergency management team impressed her.
“That’s where we are thankful for the notice that we had. Our sheriff’s department, fire department, emergency manager, all those people that watched that storm. To lest us know where it was and when it was coming. You know, most places don’t have that much notice. So we are thankful for that,” said Bender.
She said empty lots and a lack of trees in her town are a daily reminder of the events 10 years ago.
“We still have a foundation just down the street from us that has never been removed or anything, so that’s a reminder all the time that it was taken in the tornado. And our neighbors, they moved on, you know, so that lot is empty. We have a lot of empty lots but, I would say in perspective, most of the people rebuilt. Some of them a different spot," said Bender. "I mean, there is always reminders and this week is a terrible week for me. To this day I don’t like bad weather, I don’t like it when storms are moving in, I want to be home. I want to be safe.”
Bender and Scheel said the residents of Wessington Springs continue to rebuild and reimagine what their small town can be in the future.
