Residents of Eldora in Hardin County are rushing to repair their homes that were damaged in a freak hail and wind storm in early August.
Eldora City Administrator Patrick Ian Rigg says the storm didn’t show up on radar, so people had little warning to take shelter. “There was nothing, then it was there, then it was gone,” Rigg said of the storm. “There was no lead time, no preparation, there was virtually nothing for us except…just getting hit.”
Around 1,500 homes and 500 businesses were badly damaged in the storm.
“Pretty much every building in town needed a new roof,” Rigg said. “There were maybe a few that fared better than other ones, where you don’t need to replace it right away, but every roof sustained some level of damage.”
The nearly nonstop rain in October delayed much of the needed repair work. With winter looming, Rigg says many residents have conceded that they’ll have to wait until spring to finish certain repairs.
Throughout Eldora, there are hail-damaged vehicles and homes with plywood nailed over windows. The storm on August 9th sent 11 Eldora residents to the hospital and also destroyed thousands of acres of crops.