Before the storm occurred, many people living in the midwest had not heard of a derecho. According to Merriam-Webster, a derecho is, “a large fast-moving complex of thunderstorms with powerful straight-line winds that cause widespread destruction.”
The path of the derecho mainly included Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, but the edges of the storm also went through some neighboring states such as Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. While most of the district did not see the worst of the storm, many people in the community still suffered from power loss, lack of cell phone service, downed trees and damage to homes.
Although many families in the district had relatively little damage, two families from the Pleasant Valley district accounted their different experiences with the damage that occurred from the Aug. 10 storm.
Referring to the damage taken place at his home, student Hunter Meyrer explained, “I have oak trees in my yard and on the day of the storm about three really big branches fell down/broke,” and that for one of his trees, “there was a crack going through the tree and seemed as if anything could blow it over,” continued Meyrer.
The Meyrer family had to cut down the cracked tree and take care of all of the broken branches from the storm. Their family wasn’t the only family in the district left distressed from the storm.
Another student described, “My power was out for two days and one night. I couldn’t charge my phone so I had to use my minivan and there was no hot water for showering, no electricity for cooking; the refrigerator food started melting and the invisible fence didn’t work for my beagles to go outside,” said Beth Mooy a senior at Pleasant Valley High School.
The damage done to the homes of the Mooy family and the Meyrer family both represent the different types of damage the storm caused. Whether it was physical damage to a property, or lack of power; the storm affected people living in the district in many different ways.
These are only some of the effects students’ families dealt with as a result from the storm. Many families in the area dealt with similar aggravations as Meyrer and Mooy explained after the storm. Almost a month after the storm, most of the Pleasant Valley area has recovered from the widespread damage occurred.
On Aug. 10, a derecho storm rolled into the Pleasant Valley area along with many other communities in the midwest, leaving a path of destruction behind.
