A mighty wind lifted the roof off the apartment house at 303 Eighth St. in Perry about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, sending the upper side of the structure crashing to the ground and damaging vehicles and a house east of the apartments.
“I haven’t seen anything like this since Woodward,” said Perry Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Frank Eiteman, referring to the 2005 tornado that extensively damaged property in Woodward.
Perry Police Department Officer Josh Sienkiewicz evacuated the residents of the four-unit apartment house. He said there were no injuries in the incident.
“That was one powerful wind,” Sienkiewicz said. “Luckily, everyone got out okay, and the person in unit four was gone.”
The multi-family residential property is owned by Jose Herrera and Ma Teresa Diaz Herrera, according to county records.
“The wind carried it all the way over here,” Omar Saenz, who owns the house across the street at 304 Eighth St. “It damaged two of my cars but didn’t hit my house.” A tree in Saenz’s front yard was badly damaged.
Along with the Perry Police Department, the Woodward Police Department, Perry Volunteer Fire Department and Dallas County EMS responded to the incident.
All residents of the apartment house were taken to the Perry Volunteer Fire Department station and will meet with Red Cross workers in order to sort out temporary shelter.
Further thunderstorms are expected for the Perry area Tuesday night and into Wednesday. The National Weather Service in Des Moines issued a new severe thunderstorm watch until 3 a.m. Wednesday for northern Dallas County.
ThePerryNews.com will update this story as information becomes available.
