Delmont tornado: 'Four solid blocks of nothing'

At a glance

• Residents and their families were allowed back into town, but volunteers were not yet welcome.
• Water and electricity was restored, but a boil order remained in effect. With utilities back, the Red Cross moved its operation center from Tripp to New Hope Lutheran Church in Delmont.
• Officials said 49 structures were destroyed and another 29 were damaged but habitable.

Jeremy Daugherty doesn't know where his camper ended up after Sunday's tornado in Delmont, but he did find the baby blue tailgate to a 1980s-era Chevrolet pickup in his yard.

That tailgate came in handy Tuesday, serving as a ramp into the trailer he and his family were filling with the salvageable contents of his leveled home.

With no insurance on the inherited home, no vehicle of his own and no plan for what to do next, Daugherty is happy for any help he can get.

"I have no idea what we'll do," Daugherty said. "Right now, we're just trying to save anything we can."

Daugherty's not sure if he'll stay in Delmont. He and his two boys are staying with family in Tripp for now.

"There's nowhere to stay in Delmont. Most of the homes were right over there," he said, waving toward the demolished stretch of Seaman Street hit hardest by the storm.

Daugherty's sister Sally Gill came in from Sioux City to help her brother clean up. She was also helping her sister, who lives less than a block away and watched her roof tear away from the top of her stairwell, her two dogs in her arms.

When Gill first saw pictures of the damaged homes, "I just bawled," she said.

The Daugherty family homes were among 49 structures destroyed by the EF-2 tornado, according to Sandy Frentz, the public information officer for the emergency response. Another 29 were damaged but habitable.

Cleanup efforts were inching ahead by Tuesday morning.Water and electricity service was restored, though a boil order was still in place. Residents and their families were allowed back into town, but volunteers were not yet welcome.

"Please have patience," said Mayor Mae Gunnare. "We're still working on getting a safe route in for them."

About half of the residents of the town of 200 were impacted by the storm, Gunnare said. Most are staying with family, but the Red Cross' help center in Tripp has served over 2,500 meals since Sunday.

She believes the town will rebuild, but she knows Daugherty isn't the only resident taking stock of their options in the face of the devastation.

"People are looking at 'do we even build in Delmont,'" Gunnare said. "We have four solid blocks of nothing."

People on those blocks were advised to be careful clearing out their belongings. If there's any concern about a tetanus shot, those are on offer for free. They've also been advised not to throw out anything valuable without taking a photo or video – that way insurance companies have proof of ownership and can compensate the owner for the loss.

Insurance payments aren't an option for Daugherty, but it will be for others.

The tornado tore Steve Peters' home in half just south of Delmont. He also lost nine cows, five fat cattle and three nursing calves on his land. He feels for them because they had nowhere to hide and couldn't run past the fence.

Peters says he's grateful to have a good insurance policy to cover his economic losses, though, and because his family was unharmed.

Aside from the animals, he said, "it's just a lot of material things."

Peters and his wife were in Delmont with his 89-year-old mother when the twister rushed through. He's glad they were able to get her into the basement in time, as the tornado hit her home, too.

"I think it would have been too much for her to fathom to try and get to safety," he said.

His son Seth lives across the Highway 18 from his father, in a house with no basement. He brought his wife and one-year-old son across the road as the tornado hit so they'd all have a basement for shelter.

The sound — about 30 seconds of fury as the tornado passed overhead — was "kind of silent" from the basement he recalls. When he walked up the steps and saw insulation from the roof and knew he'd underestimated the storm.

"I never dreamed when I walked up those stairs that this is what we'd see," Seth Peters said. "It didn't sound that bad."

The Peters say they've been overwhelmed by the support of neighbors since then. A stranger from Yankton joined them Monday, saying he'd gone through a tornado and wanted to pitch in. More than 100 people from the Clearfield and Greenwald Hutterite colonies appeared Monday to help.

"They've been such good neighbors," Steve Peters said. "It's been everyone. It's wonderful to live in a state like South Dakota, where people are so willing to help out."

Frentz reminded the media during an 11 a.m. briefing that the best way to help is still to donate cash. There are accounts at First State Bank locations in Delmont, Tripp, Armour and Geddes. Donations can be mailed to First State Bank, Box 68, Delmont 57330.

Texting the word "REDCROSS" to 90999 will make a $10 donation to the Red Cross to assist in their efforts to feed, house and cloth the families who need it.