MPR’s Jon Gordon reports on the devastation left from multiple tornadoes that struck southwest Minnesota towns. Chandler and Lake Wilson were the worst hit.
On June 16, 1992, a devastating tornado ravaged portions of southwest Minnesota. Commonly referred as the Chandler-Lake Wilson tornado, it caused over $50 million in property damage, resulting in more than 40 injuries and one fatality. The National Weather Service estimated this F5 tornado packed winds in excess of 260 mph. It was the only F5 tornado to occur in the United States in 1992. Storm was one of 27 tornadoes in a statewide outbreak that day.
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JOHN GORDON: National Guard troops are in several Southwest Minnesota towns this morning, searching for injured and helping area residents after tornadoes ripped through the region. Olivia, Clarkfield, Lake Wilson, and Chandler are being monitored by the National Guard. The Murray County towns of Lake Wilson and Chandler appear to be the hardest hit.
Ron McKenzie is Murray County Sheriff.
RON MCKENZIE: Chandler is a population of approximately 300. Almost every business or house in the town has some kind of damage. Probably a fourth to half of those are totaled. Then you go up to Lake Wilson, a town approximately the same size, at least half the houses in that town have damage, and probably a fourth of that are extreme damage.
JOHN GORDON: In Chandler, the tornado wiped out a new housing addition on the town's west side and turned the second story of the local high school to rubble. Rod [? Scare ?] is a shop owner in Chandler. He watched the storm enter the town.
[? ROD SCARE: ?] Well, we were looking out the side window of the shop. And we seen dark clouds coming. All of a sudden, we could see things turning up to the Southwest. We see it turning. And it came over. And it just destroyed everything here.
I was in the shop. It didn't destroy our shop, but everything around it is gone. A lot of houses are all gone. It's just something else. It's hard to believe.
JOHN GORDON: Thirty-five people from the Murray County area were taken to hospitals. Twenty of those were treated and released. No fatalities have been reported in connection with the tornado activity in Southwest Minnesota, but some of the more seriously injured have been transferred to Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Cindy Morrison, Public Affairs Director for Sioux Valley Hospital, says four Minnesota residents are being treated there.
CINDY MORRISON: Out of the four patients, we have two of those patients in fair condition, one in critical condition, and one in serious condition.
JOHN GORDON: A tornado hit a chemical storage facility in Chandler, causing a chemical spill. Kevin Burns, a spokesman for the State Department of Public Safety, says the facility included two warehouses that stored agricultural chemicals, such as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
KEVIN BURNS: Because of the nature of the storm, the high winds, and the torrential rains, some of that chemical has indeed mixed in with the rain. And at this point, we are concerned about possible groundwater and other contamination in the area.
JOHN GORDON: The storms also destroyed farms and homes and downed power lines and trees in the area. Thunderstorms blanketed much of the rest of Minnesota last night from the Duluth area to the Twin Cities and into Southeast Minnesota.
Minneapolis Police reports some mild flooding, downed trees and power lines. Saint Paul Police also report some power outages. Northern States Power says, about 12,000 homes lost electricity in the Twin Cities last night. Storm damage is also reported in rural communities in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
This is John Gordon, Minnesota Public Radio.