WESSINGTON SPRINGS, S.D. -- A tornado hit a small town in central South Dakota on Wednesday night, damaging homes, destroying three businesses and injuring at least one person, according to the National Weather Service and local officials.
Meteorologist Todd Heitkamp said law enforcement in Wessington Springs reported that the tornado went right "through the heart of town." It hit just before 8 p.m.
Dedrich Koch, the city's emergency-operations spokesman, said the tornado alarms in the city sounded several times and allowed residents to head to the city's emergency shelter that is in the basement of the courthouse. He said three businesses were destroyed and 11 or 12 houses are uninhabitable.
A Section on 06/19/2014
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