26 April 2023
SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — The EF-3 tornado that ripped through Andover one year ago also touched down in eastern Sedgwick County. It damaged homes in the area along with the Eastside Mobile Home Park.
“We had a trailer here and behind here that lost its roof. The roof was hanging out in the powerlines and stuff,” Park owner Terry Herl said.
They have cleaned up most of the homes and replaced one. Herl says they are still planning on tearing others down that were damaged, and he hopes to build up the park again in the long term.
He says he has had problems getting workers like plumbers and electricians.
“Everyone is so busy and booked up, can’t get it done,” Herl said.
He says the process has been expensive, especially not having insurance on the vacant homes that were destroyed.
“About three weeks after the tornado, they pulled all the dumpsters and all the stuff that they were putting out here to help us,” Herl said. “They pulled them all out. So then it was on us to continue the cleanup efforts. So we had to pay for our own dumpsters and stuff.”
Down the street, Rebekah Garcia is thankful her life is back to normal. Her home was damaged by the tornado, and three sheds were destroyed.
“Basically a garage rebuilt instead of those three sheds, and we’re thankful for that,” Garcia said. “So we really haven’t experienced many of the sufferings that we know a lot of our neighbors have.”
They are at different points of rebuilding, but what they have in common is gratitude to people who have helped through the process.