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Thursday, April 10, 2008

DeSoto devastated by severe storms

By Brian Allen of Best Southwest Citizen

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DESOTO — A storm that may have reached tornado level strength damaged several buildings in DeSoto early this morning and left a large swath of the city without power.

Some 20 homes, a senior apartment complex and the newly revamped MCM Grande Hotel sustained damage from winds traveling between 70-80 miles per hour. Wintergreen Road was temporarily closed due to the storm debris.

Most of those homes were in the Centre Estates subdivision.

City spokesperson Kathy Jones said most of the power is back on in the city. Now city staff are surveying the damage to see if DeSoto will need an official disaster designation.

Jones said staff will place dumpsters on Manor and Hubert Drive, areas that got hit hard by the sudden spring storms.

At least 180,000 homes in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area lost power during the storms. Arkansas and Oklahoma also sustained heavy damage from the violent storm system.

DeSoto’s Community Missionary Baptist Church is functioning a shelter for anyone who may need those services.


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Jeremy Dunck

Jeremy Dunck Staff

Posted on behalf of eulessgirl:

" The storm roared through like it was in a big hurry to get somewhere else, knocking down trees and power lines and scaring people awake all over the Metroplex. In Euless my clock read 3:31 a.m. for the next day and a half. The battery radio said 250,000 people were without electricity. I expected it would several days before things were back on track but around noon a crew of knights in shining hard hats arrived and told us they would be working day and night until power was restored. They were true to their word, and I gotta tell you, watching these men go about their work with such can-do and know-how was comforting.

Around 10 p.m. a lineman wearing spikes climbed to the top of the utility pole in my back yard. As he was wrestling with a transformer and it slipped and dangled for a moment before he got control of it again. I heard a worker on the ground ask the lineman if he wanted to take a break but he just said, "No, I'm fine."

By the next afternoon electricity was flowing once again in my neighborhood and the workers headed to another job at another location. No fan fair and no bows--just taking care of business.

Time for me to brew a cup of coffee in my electric coffee pot and maybe dig out a copy of "Working Man Blues" by Merle Haggard or "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell and salute the American working men and women who keep our world working. Thanks guys. You are the best! "

4 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Doyle

Scott Doyle Verified

I distinctly recall a sweeping notion of regret for renting a 4th-floor apartment when this thing woke me up just before 3:50 AM. Glad all turned out well for eulessgirl!

4 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

eulessgirl Anonymous

Things turned out well for me but I have since learned that one of those young knights in hard hats, a 24 year old man from Oklahoma, died when a utility pole fell on him in Hurst. I feel heartbroken for him and for his family.

4 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

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