JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Just before midnight on May 22, 2019, an EF-3 tornado hit Mid-Missouri, ripping roofs off of homes, downing trees and powerlines and changing the lives of hundreds of people.
Two years later, and rebuilding is still underway.
There are still 12 buildings that need to be torn down in the city, and even more that need to be repaired after the tornado, according to data from Jefferson City's building official. Since the tornado hit:
- 73 residential buildings have been demolished
- 16 non-residential buildings have been torn down (includes apartment buildings)
- 11 residential structures are yet to be demolished
- 1 commercial structure is yet to be demolished
- 138 net housing units have been lost
- 37 residential structures are yet to be repaired
The city is also still giving out permits to rebuild buildings. Those permits include:
- 5 new single-family homes
- 61 commercial construction permits issued (valued at $ 11.1 million)
- 145 residential construction permits issued (valued at $ 2.4 million)
The operations director of Jefferson City's Public Works Department, Britt Smith, said it has been a long road, and it's still not over.
"I'd love to say they are perfect and everything is great, but we are on the right path. Jefferson City has really shown how strong it is, JC Strong has really been true," Smith said. "Some areas are a lot slower than we want, but other areas, it's far better than we could have ever imagined just two years ago."
He said the areas that are still damaged or vacant are largely private property, saying some could be landlords who are not local. Some are people still struggling to figure out what to do.
"Those things certainly can be an eyesore for the neighborhood and it's tough for everyone, but then there are peple who are that are still trying to figure out how they are going to rebuild, and what are they going to rebuild, and what it's going to look like," Smith said.
"It's a dance to give them the space they need to make the right decision, but at the same time not hurt their adjacent property owners," Smith said.
Smith said utilities damaged in the storm have been repaired and are back in full operation, and hundreds of truckloads of debris have been removed.
"The hard part is rebuilding, and the associated insurance and all of those things that go along with that, so that's the process we are in right now," Smith said. "Recovery is always a long road. Cleanup seems to be the heavy lifting, but it's the recovery that's the long road."
The city is repairing the historic Missouri State Penitentiary with special disaster funds. Meanwhile, a neighborhood near Jefferson City High School that was heavily damaged by the tornado is about to be turned into a sports complex for the school district.
But as for when things might get back to "normal," Smith said that's a hard question to answer
"What is that new normal? No one really knows, and that's the scary and exciting part of it," Smith said.
Hear from organizations and survivors about recovery tonight ABC 17 News after the live American Idol Finale.
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May 24, 2021 at 02:01AM
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Rebuilding from tornado damage still underway in Jefferson City two years later - ABC17NEWS - ABC17News.com
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