Chaos in Poplar Bluff: Tornado uproots homes and claims a life, community seeks shelter

Poplar Bluff received hard hits last night from a tornado in the late evening hours. The New Covenant Fellowship Church off PP Highway lost most of the roof over the worship hall.

The twister lifted several storage sheds from their foundations and snapped large roof trusses. Insulation from the building covered the surrounding area.

The highway was covered with debris from both the church and the adjacent trailer park. The morning after yielded grim scenes of trailers flipped over and removed from their foundations.

One resident who did not wish to give her name found her house uprooted and thrown so far she could not find it. The Butler County Sheriff's Department stationed a squad car at the entrance of the park to discourage looters.

"It was bad," commented Poplar Bluff Severe Weather Response Team Director Craig Meador.

Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Mike Moffitt said, “We’ve just experienced a major disaster. While we did have a fatality and multiple injuries, I feel it would’ve been much worse if our storm sirens hadn’t sounded and gave everyone time to get to their safe place. Early warning is key to surviving these types of events.

Moffitt continued, “The first few hours after this storm had passed were very chaotic, while trying to simultaneously respond to multiple calls we had to deal with downed trees, power lines blocking the roadway and a high volume of traffic. We haven’t had a storm of this magnitude in years, and all the city and county departments worked together to get us through this disaster.”

The Poplar Bluff Kindergarten off Shelby Road lost most of its roof with substantial damage to classrooms. Ten Box's gas station was also nearly destroyed.

The commercial strip in front of Ten Box showed signs of buckling walls and crumbling brick facades.

Butler County Emergency Manager Robbie Myers confirmed one fatality locally by CR 450.

The Black River Coliseum is open as a shelter for those affected by the tornado.