Service workers continue to clean up storm damage and debris

MATTHEWS Mo. (KBSI) – People continue to clean up the mess that an EF2 tornado left behind, thanks to the help of local service workers in the community. One man says he’s glad to be of assistance during these trying times.

“It’s helping to keep the ball rolling for them to get everything back up and go back to their day to day lives.” is what Dylan Murdock of Murdock Excavation and Tree Service says.

As an owner and operator of a tree service, Murdock says even 10 days after the storm, his phone is still ringing.

“That first day I had about 120 to 150 calls. Just that first day within averaging 40 calls a day.” He recalled.

So far, Murdock and his crew have been servicing Sikeston and the surrounding areas. Today, his team could be seen working tirelessly in Matthews; chipping away at trees so residents can carry on living comfortably in their homes.

He says, “There’s still a lot of people that are considered homeless because they’ve had a tree fall through their house and a big hole.”

The first day after the tornado, he mentions seeing a lot of downed powerlines and broken poles. Even trees and branches intertwined with the powerlines. He tips his hat off to power companies, who at times, had to work closely with tree service providers for safety purposes.

“They got everything up as fast as they could, and they did a great job. They’re still working on getting everything back to where it needs to be.” He mentioned.

It’s a job that is said to be hazardous at times, especially after devastation strikes an area.

Murdock adds, “It has been dangerous. When these trees fall like this, they’re very unpredictable sitting up there. They might roll. We don’t know exactly what’s holding them up there until we kind of get into it a little bit and kind of sit back and scope it out and see what’s going on.”

Murdock says he’s inspired by the positive spirit among the storm survivors.

“Everybody has been very nice. They’re very thankful, very appreciative. They’ve been really, really happy to start to get their lives back in track where it needs to be.”