Tornado causes 'extensive' damage as it tears through southern Linn County
- Journal Staff Report
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Roger Sims, Journal staff
MOUND CITY – "The damage is extensive." That was the assessment of Linn County Sheriff James Akes in the wake of a tornado that ripped across southern Linn County on Monday evening.
Akes in an interview Monday night said the tornado left a swath as much as a quarter mile wide, splintering 3-foot-diameter trees, stripping campers of siding and "twisted them "like beer cans." Remarkably, though, most of the victims received only minor injuries.
"We were lucky," he said. "It could have been much worse."
At least 400 customers lost power and there are initial reports of damage to property south of Mound City after a tornado was reportedly on the ground about 8:30 p.m. on Monday, April 13.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning shortly after 8 p.m. Allen County authorities notified Linn County of hail and possible cloud rotation just before 8 p.m., and at 8:07 p.m. spotters notified Linn County dispatch that the cell was directly over Blue Mound.
Akes said the storm split at Blue Mound with one rotating cell going north and another going south around the city. It was the cell going south of the city that shifted north again and came down around Farris Road, then followed an easterly path toward the Missouri state line.
The twister bounced along a path toward the Sugar Valley Lakes development, where it caused the most damage. Akes said that the tornado came in the southwest part of the development south of 700 Road, then turned northwest toward the lake's dam.
Boat docks were turned upside down and docks were piled on top of docks. Boats were thrown up on the beach and across the development that is mostly wooded lots. The trees were heavily damaged.
"It flattened campers, flipped campers, and some campers couldn't be found," he said. One mobile home was found 50 feet from its foundation.
Akes said that a house was destroyed in the storm with two people inside. Despite the damage, though, the two suffered only minor injuries. No deaths were reported as of late Monday night.
The tornado then crossed Paine Road at about 750 Road and moved east, destroying two barns with equipment inside them. It then followed 750 Road and 800 Road across U.S. Highway 69, flipping two occupied campers before it crossed over into Bates County, Mo., he said.
Both Evergy and Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative reported power outages to just over 200 customers each in the Mound City area. Akes said neither company could offer a timeline on when all of the customers would have power restored.
Linn County Public Works Department and Kansas Department of Transportation crews were out as soon as the storm passed, clearing downed trees from across roads. The Linn County Fire Department was also out working through the damage, he said, adding that they were working late into the night. But those crews weren't the only ones that responded quickly.
"We had a quick response from the communities," the sheriff said. "They were amazing. They made sure everyone was OK."
Akes said there was only one hiccup in response to the tornado. The warning siren at Mound City didn't work properly. However, it only took about 15 to 20 seconds to restart it and it worked after that.