ANNAPOLIS, Mo. — South Iron R-1 Schools and a number of homes are badly damaged after an EF-1 tornado tore through parts of Iron County, Missouri.
One survivor says he still can't believe he's alive.
"It was scary,” custodian Kenny Berkbuegler said. “It was something I don't ever want to witness again."
Wednesday evening custodian Kenny Berkbuegler was preparing South Iron High School for the final day of class when severe weather struck.
“I really didn’t think we were going to get much of anything last night,” Berkbuegler said. “It was getting later in the evening. This kind of all just popped up and it all happened so fast. We had seconds to react all I could do is run."
Berkbuegler took shelter in a staff bathroom as a tornado slammed into the school.
"Time stood still,” said Berkbuegler. “It was very quick, but it felt like an eternity. It was pretty scary."
The tornado, with windspeeds of up to 110mph badly damaged the school, as it traveled roughly 6 miles through the Annapolis area.
“We really didn’t see anything bad at the time,” District Fire Chief Byron Ashlock said. “There was no tornado signatures, no tornado warnings, and as the storm moved on top of us it was just immediate. There was no warning and no time to set the sirens off.”
In the moment Berkbuegler said he was just happy to be alive.
"When I came up here this morning and seen what everything looked like, and it still is, it's hard to comprehend that I was right here,” Berkbuegler said.
“The true blessing is that nobody was hurt,” Annapolis Mayor Scott Oheman said.
As damage surveys continue, outgoing South Iron Superintendent Cristie Ayres says schools across the region have reached out offering their support. Still, it’s unclear if the school will be repaired in time for the start of the fall semester.
“We’re hoping,” South Iron Superintendent Cristie Ayres said. “We have no idea what that’s going to look like. Of course, when we go inside and look at that, three months, that’s a lot to get accomplished in three months.”
“This is definitely not the way I wanted the school year to end,” Berkbuegler said.