Tuesday storms leave some area residents homeless

Lou Vigano darted frantically through the hallway of the Hilltop Apartments building in Perryville on Tuesday night telling residents a tornado warning had been issued.

"Faboom! There was a big gust of wind and the roof just imploded," Vigano said.

He'd only made it halfway through the building. Lights flickered, rain poured down, he struggled through the debris to get everyone out. With about half of the building's roof blown off, it was now open to the elements. Lights were left hanging by wires, insulation draped down into the hall. Soggy ceiling tiles covered the floor.

Vigano herded the remaining residents out of their efficiency apartments and into the building's community room where they waited for help to arrive.

They were still in need of help Wednesday.

About 16 families are now homeless after Tuesday's storm decimated their apartment building.

They gathered at the Perry Park Center where volunteers from the American Red Cross' Southeast Missouri Chapter fed them lunch and assessed each individual's needs.

A temporary shelter for the Hilltop residents was set up Wednesday afternoon at the First Baptist Church in Perryville, Red Cross volunteer Marla Barber said.

The city has condemned the building and has prohibited residents from going back inside because it is unsafe, said Brent Buerck, Perryville city administrator.

"Had it not been for Leon's leadership in this time of crisis, there would have been dead people. His leadership saved lives," Buerck said.

Jonathan Caillier, 23, was the only person injured in the storm. A portion of the roof collapsed on top of him while he was helping other residents get to safety. His fiancee, Jessica Thomley, said he was in good condition and may be released from the hospital this week.

Thomley was at work when the storm hit.

"I'm just in shock," said Nicole Hayden, 19, as she fought back tears. "Right now I'm taking it one day at a time."

Hayden lived in Hilltop Apartments with her fiance and his mother, who is a cancer patient. Firefighters returned to the building Wednesday morning to get medication for her and several other residents.

"I know we lost a lot of stuff," Hayden said. She also lost her cat. Another resident lost a Chihuahua in the storm, Vigano said.

This apartment complex was damaged before, in May 2009, when the building received substantial damage from tornadic winds, said owner Carol Scauzzo of Sunset Hills, Mo. Just a few months ago, she'd reopened a portion of the building renovated after the last storm.

Wednesday afternoon she was waiting for insurance adjusters to arrive, expecting they would deem the building a total loss. If so, she said, she does not intend to rebuild.

Two fire crews and several police officers responded to the apartment building 8:10 p.m. Tuesday, said Keith Tarrillion of the Perryville Police Department. The damage at Hilltop Apartments was one of about 500 calls for service Perryville police received within the first hour of Tuesday's storm, he said.

The only injury reported in the storm occurred at the apartment complex, Tarrillion said.

Emergency responders and Perryville public works employees spent much of Tuesday night removing debris from roadways, including portions of roofs that had blown into the road, downed trees and power lines, he said.

About half of the roof of the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission building on St. Joseph Street blew off; some of its metal pieces were found more than a block away, said Chauncy Buchheit, Planning Commission executive director. The building dates back to the 1890s and many of the roof's planks were held on with square nails, he said.

Several Perryville schools were damaged including the roofs of the senior high, old senior high, elementary gym and career center. Windows were also broken in several buildings. Athletic fields and storage sheds were damaged as well.

About 30 percent of the roof was damaged at Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau, allowing water to leak into building's fine arts wing, said Brother David Migliorino, the school's principal. The school's kitchen, cafetorium, music rooms, dance studio and prop and costume storage areas all sustained water damage.

School was called off for the day, but about 150 students along with all the school's teachers, some parents and school board members worked Wednesday to inventory the damage and clean up. Professional cleaning crews from ServPro were also called in to assist.

"We really had the best of the worst-case scenario. We are thankful no one was hurt and students weren't here when it happened," Migliorino said. "Everything is fixable."

Three hundred ninety-seven Citizens Electric customers were still without power Wednesday evening, down from the peak of 5,126 customers Tuesday night, said Barb Casper, spokeswoman for Citizens Electric.

Perryville's sewage treatment plant is without power as well, Buerck said. It was operating at a modified capacity Wednesday using backup generators. Tuesday's storm took down two high-voltage transmission lines that provide power to the plant, Casper said. About 50 utility poles were also destroyed in the storm.

"It takes a specialized crew to repair them," Casper said. "They are scheduled to arrive first thing in the morning."

Power should be restored to the sewer treatment plant soon, she said.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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