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Belton, Missouri, residents are cleaning up and assessing the damage Saturday after a confirmed EF1 tornado touched down in their neighborhood Friday night.
The storm left homes with destroyed siding and roofs, shattered windows and yards covered in things like wood, chunks of metal, trash cans and uprooted trees.
Crews worked steadily Saturday to clear debris and restore power to families in the area.
Across from the damaged homes, tree branches and other debris covered the grounds of the Belton Cemetery.
"It was just like bam — it was all there. The window cracked, you heard tons and tons of noise, and then it just disappeared," resident Jennifer Martin said.
Mike Anneler, another resident, said he saw the storm approaching.
"I seen supersonic winds coming at me," Anneler said. "I didn’t see a tornado shape, but the news was saying it was a tornado. So, that’s I guess what I seen, but to me it just looked like a cloudy supersonic wind coming at you."
The tornado was only on the ground for about five minutes, but memory was significant for those impacted.
“I didn’t make it to my shelter, and that’s when everything went kaboom, like a big bomb just went off," Anneler said. “I went outside and seen all this mess, and I’m like, 'Man, that was definitely a tornado.'”
With so much to clean up and repair, residents are now left to pick up the pieces.
"Next couple of days is going to be me securing my house, so it don’t get any more damaged," Anneler said. "Because I got holes in my roof, so I have to get tarps to put over it."
The City of Belton shared social media updates Saturday on its storm response, asking residents to avoid impacted areas unless necessary as recovery efforts continue.
The city also posted a list of licensed roofing contractors to help those impacted make informed decisions regarding repairs.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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