On the night of Wednesday, April 19 our city was hit by an EF2 tornado. As the storm approached, citizens hunkered in their cellars, covered their children and pets in closets, juggled a maelstrom of emotions and prayed that their families would be spared. When the winds and fear died down, people began to flood the streets to see what damage had been done. What followed can only be described as the best in humanity.

Neighbors went door-to-door to check on each other. They boarded off windows, tarped roofs and cleared debris from the roadways so that emergency vehicles could pass through. As our citizens did their part, community and county leaders were working all night long to close off streets and plan for what the destruction would show when the Sun came up. As we all would find out, it was immense.

Governor Stitt requested an expedited major disaster declaration on Sunday from the federal government. Aerial damage assessments conducted by FEMA found more than 2,000 homes and apartments impacted, including at least 231 that sustained major damage or were destroyed. Of those 2,000 homes impacted, 50% were uninsured and an additional 25% were underinsured. Its safe to say, our community needs help.

The United Way of Pottawatomie County started a recovery fund with 100% of the profits going towards local recovery, in particular those with unmet needs. Please donate today to help our community rebuild. Rebuilding today, restoring for tomorrow. We are #ShawneeSTRONG