The sounds of chain saws filled the air on April 11 in several central Wisconsin towns as people cleared downed trees and other debris from streets and damaged homes after thunderstorms and at least four tornados hit the area the day before.
“It hit me when we drove in this morning that all the stuff you work for was gone,” Jim Swendrzynski, 53, told the Wausau Daily Herald after he returned to the remains of his home in Merrill. “Then you realize that stuff doesn’t matter.”
Swendrzynski and many of his neighbors’ homes were leveled by the storm and they now face a long cleanup. The 100-foot pine trees on his seven acres of land were flattened or snapped in half.
The National Weather Service said it had confirmed tornados in northwest Winnebago County, the south side of Kaukauna, in Adams County near Arkdale and fourth about 5 miles southwest of Hancock. Weather service officials were investigating other reports of tornado touchdowns in the state.
In Adams County, a preliminary report estimated the damage to homes at more than $1.4 million, with seven homes destroyed and another 40 more suffering major damage. The damage to six businesses was estimated at $882,000.
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