Students back in school as SW Mo. tallies storm damage

SPRINGFIELD, Mo (AP) -- Elementary school students in one hard-hit town are back in class in some improvised rooms a week after storms and tornadoes ripped through southwest Missouri.

In Republic, just southwest of Springfield, kids were learning in hallways, the library and the boys' locker room while the district works to repair roof damage over part of the building.

Principal Cindy Crabtree said the staff was upbeat and cooperative as everyone at the school made adjustments to return to the school Monday.

They had missed two days of school last week, then held classes for two days at a nearby church.

The two hallways in the school's west wing are dark. Ceiling tiles are gone, and floor tiles are popping up after a week of drying out with 44 fans and 12 dehumidifiers.

The classrooms are piled up with desks, tables and bookcases that were rendered unusable by water that poured in through the open roof.

In nearby Webster County, where one woman was killed by a tornado, officials are still trying to gather information about storm damage.

"We have a lot of people with adequate insurance coverage who don't need help, but they still need to report their damage," said Deana Fishel, public information officer with the county's Office of Emergency Management.

The county needs the information for three reasons: to help determine the tornado path, to provide data to state and federal governments for assistance and to direct the county assessor as he reassesses damaged property.

The county has not been able to make a clear estimate of damage because many people have not called in, Fishel said.

In Barry County, several county roads are still unusable after experiencing flood damage from the storm.

David Compton, director of the county's Office of Emergency Management, said an estimated 50 miles of chip-and-seal roads and 200 miles of gravel roads were damaged. There is no comprehensive list of the impassable roads because of extent of the damage, he said.

Larry Woods, assistant director of the Greene County Office of Emergency Management, said most of the damage has been cleared from roads but that drivers should be aware that many people are cleaning up from the storm.

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com