Monett, surrounding communities cleaning up after tornado

MONETT, Mo. — A tornado left behind tons of debris and downed trees in Aurora and Monett, and those communities are spending today cleaning up the mess.

But in the midst of the chaos, one resident said the damage could have been much worse.

“As the night progressed I got a few more messages, a few more phone calls, ‘Hey, Monett City Park got hit pretty hard there,” said Eric Sarver, who is a regular at the YMCA in Monett.

The YMCA is located right next to the city park, and Sarver said when he saw the damage for the first time, he was grateful no one was hurt.

“You know, this community is driven together and very proud of that aspect of things,” Sarver said. “As you guys can see, there are a lot of trees down, city workers are already out here doing their job.”

Utility crews were out as early as 4 a.m. working to clear up power poles that were damaged in the storm along Highway 60.

Several residents in Monett and surrounding areas were without power last night, but have since had their lights come back on.

“There are so many people our there, you know I was prepared last to get my tractor out with my big grapple. And whether it was on us or on another piece of property, always wanna help together, which is always what’s key,” said Sarver.

OzarksFirst spoke with the emergency management director in Monett, who said their department is working through the list of damage reports, but said they’re working fast and hard to make sure everything is okay.

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