Reporters say tornado destruction is unbelievable

An EF-5 tornado bears down on Parkersburg.

By Andrew Nostvick, Wartburg College

KWWL reporter Jon Keimig was among the first reporters to arrive in Parkersburg after a tornado struck the town in May.

Keimig had the day off, but was called to work following reports of serious damage in Parkersburg.

Keimig made it to Parkersburg around 8:15 that evening and struggled getting into town.

“I had to walk into town because there were power lines down on the road I was on,” Keimig said. “So I had to basically walk to carry all my gear through a muddy field.”

Unprepared for devastation
“When they said a town had been flattened, you always see video of it being a housing development that gets hit by the tornado,” Keimig said.

“You don't think that a tornado would literally start on one side of town, travel right down the highway that goes through town and then even when it's passed town, still doing damage.”

Keimig had never covered a tornado prior to Parkersburg. However, experience or no experience, a tornado of this magnitude can be hard to prepare for when reporting a story he said.

“On the way up, I had plenty of time. I was mentally going over images of other tornadoes that I had seen just on TV,” Keimig said.

Never seen anything like it
KCCI reporter Angela Hunt showed up to Parkersburg the day after the tornadoes struck.

Hunt says that she's covered severe weather events like tornadoes before, but it was nothing comparable to the level of damage she witnessed.

“You go to some communities where tornadoes had hit and you still see structures standing, you still see trees standing,” Hunt said. “There's at least some feeling of a community.”

With the tornadoes being a huge story state-wide, the story hits all people.

“There's I think a connection for a lot of people whether you know someone there or not,” Hunt said.