Nine people were injured when a tornado hit Delmont Sunday morning. All but two were treated and released. The storm resulted in a voluntary evacuation of the community.
Jennifer Hacker is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls. She says the tornado traveled a 17 mile path stretching from three miles east of Wagner to about five miles north of Delmont.
“We did have a storm survey team go out there yesterday afternoon and they rated it as an EF-2," Hacker says. "And what that entails is, we based it on the damage to the buildings and the trees out there. And it looks like an estimated peak wind of around 130 miles an hour. In our survey it looks like over 20 buildings were damaged in the town of Delmont itself and there were some additional damage to farmsteads around the area out there.”
The Red Cross opened an emergency shelter at the Tripp-Delmont High School in Tripp, and is assisting the community with relief efforts. Members of the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Office of Emergency Management are providing support as well. South Dakotans are asked to not donate any items until there is a better idea of what is needed. Officials say right now monetary donations are the best way to assist the community.