# Branson Hit by Tornado early this morning 2/29/2012



## dougp26364 (Feb 29, 2012)

Reports are sketchy so far but serious damage has been reported to some of the theaters. I can't tell from the reports if they're along 76 Country Music Blv, in the downtown area or both.

This will be the third year of serious damage in Branson recently. Two floods and now a tornado. Branson can't seem to catch a break when it comes to spring storms.


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## ace2000 (Feb 29, 2012)

My wife is a school teacher down there and just got a call that school is cancelled.  TV news has reported several buildings on the main strip have been damaged, and the Branson Landing has sustained damages.  No fatalities in Branson have been reported.


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## Miss Marty (Feb 29, 2012)

*Branson Takes Direct Hit From Tornado on Feb 29 Leap Day*

Anyone know if there has been any damages to 
(French Quarter Resort) Branson timeshares?

We have relatives who live in Springfield and a friend Wes Wise who went to Missouri Sunday for a part in Joseph at the Sight and  Sound Theatre in Branson.

Hope everyone is safe


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## ace2000 (Feb 29, 2012)

Miss Marty said:


> Anyone know if there has been any damages to
> (French Quarter Resort) Branson timeshares?
> 
> We have relatives who live in Springfield and a friend Wes Wise who went to Missouri Sunday for a part in Joseph at the Sight and  Sound Theatre in Branson.
> ...


 
We live in Springfield.  We got high winds, but no major problems.  Buffalo is a town a few miles to the north, and a trailer park suffered some damages with one fatality.


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## dougp26364 (Feb 29, 2012)

Miss Marty said:


> Anyone know if there has been any damages to
> (French Quarter Resort) Branson timeshares?
> 
> We have relatives who live in Springfield and a friend Wes Wise who went to Missouri Sunday for a part in Joseph at the Sight and  Sound Theatre in Branson.
> ...



Silver Dollar City just posted on Facebook that there was no damage to SDC, Showboat Branson Belle or White Water. If there was no damage to White Water, my bet would be that there was little to no damage to French Quarter. 

They posted that there was minor damage to Ride the Ducks but, they would open as scheduled on March 9th.


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## puppymommo (Feb 29, 2012)

Here's what I could find on our local (St. Louis) news website about the damage:

A large, destructive tornado reportedly touched down west-northwest of Branson near Kimberling City and Table Rock Lake, before heading into the business district in Branson proper.

There is also damage reported at the Variety Theatre in Branson.  The Best Western Hotel was also completely destroyed, but everyone who was staying there has been accounted for.

Police and city officials report cars flipped over throughout the Branson business district.  Sources say an apartment building has collapsed and the roof of a local Wal-Mart was blown off. Police have reportedly been called in thwart off looters.


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## ace2000 (Feb 29, 2012)

I heard there was furniture belonging to the Hilton on the Landing that was found on Main Street.


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## squeeze (Feb 29, 2012)

ace2000 said:


> I heard there was furniture belonging to the Hilton on the Landing that was found on Main Street.





The hilton properties are closed for asssessment (it appears). It appears they got hit pretty hard.


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## gblotter (Feb 29, 2012)

squeeze said:


> The hilton properties are closed for asssessment (it appears). It appears they got hit pretty hard.


This news report mentions the Hilton damage

http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/storm-damages-southwestern-mo-branson-strip-clobbe/nK7zY/


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## travelwizard1971 (Feb 29, 2012)

Yes, I live in Branson and it was a little scary! Thankfully the town is not super busy. Could have been a lot worse. A few buildings are destroyed and a few boat docks. The Hilton will need quite a bit of work. They had most of 76 closed and said it would be for at least 24hrs.
Try this link for aerial photos. www.news-leader.com


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## MichaelColey (Feb 29, 2012)

I got an email from Palace View today, and they had no damage there.

I haven't heard of any timeshares that were affected.  One thing that may affect timesharers, though...  Both Jubilee and Wal-Mart are closed pending repairs.

Here's an official list of what is closed and/or postponed:

http://www.explorebranson.com/branson/2012-storm-listings

It sounds like things will be back in full swing almost everywhere by the weekend.


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## RegalRed1 (Mar 1, 2012)

*Current Closings of Storm Damaged Businesses*

Hi Michael, thanks for posting the link to Explore Branson -- http://www.explorebranson.com/branson/2012-storm-listings
This is the best place to check for updates on which businesses have damage.  According to Branson Tornado Info at https://www.facebook.com/BransonTornadoInfo, 76 is open for traffic and they are asking that visitors not change their plans to come to Branson this weekend or for Spring break.


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## puppymommo (Mar 1, 2012)

*Silverleaf Resorts ok*

I just called Silverleaf Corporate offices and they said neither Holiday Hills nor Ozark Mountain Resort suffered any damage.  However, power is currently out to Registration and Member Services buildings.

We're going to OMR in July so I am glad they had no damage.

It sounds like hotels received the brunt of the damage, not resorts. This may be because there are more hotels than resorts right on the Strip.


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## MichaelColey (Mar 1, 2012)

puppymommo said:


> It sounds like hotels received the brunt of the damage, not resorts. This may be because there are more hotels than resorts right on the Strip.


That's my guess, too.  I looked around to see if there was a map of the path, but I couldn't find one.  It appears to have caused the most damage on the strip (from Gretna eastward) and at the landing.  I can't think of any timeshares right on the strip.  Just hotels (and shows and restaurants).


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## ace2000 (Mar 1, 2012)

MichaelColey said:


> I can't think of any timeshares right on the strip.  Just hotels (and shows and restaurants).


 
I thought about this, and Green Mountain Cabins, Colonade, French Quarter, Roark, and the Marriot are all very close to the tornado path or close to the strip.  Those are the ones I can think of, probably a few others.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 1, 2012)

MichaelColey said:


> That's my guess, too.  I looked around to see if there was a map of the path, but I couldn't find one.  It appears to have caused the most damage on the strip (from Gretna eastward) and at the landing.  I can't think of any timeshares right on the strip.  Just hotels (and shows and restaurants).



On Branson's Facebook page someone asked about shops at Branson Landing. The responce was that the Branson Landing shops were open, so I don't think the Landing saw a great deal of damage, even though the Hilton got hit pretty hard.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 1, 2012)

ace2000 said:


> I thought about this, and Green Mountain Cabins, Colonade, French Quarter, Roark, and the Marriot are all very close to the tornado path or close to the strip.  Those are the ones I can think of, probably a few others.



I received an E-mail from French Quarter Resort in Branson that says there was no damage to the resort. I would assume that since Cabins at Green Mountain are right across the street, they probably suffered no damage as well. There is a report on the Marriott forum that says no Damage to Willow Ridge other than the loss of power.


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## MichaelColey (Mar 1, 2012)

dougp26364 said:


> On Branson's Facebook page someone asked about shops at Branson Landing. The responce was that the Branson Landing shops were open, so I don't think the Landing saw a great deal of damage, even though the Hilton got hit pretty hard.


The official closings page shows Branson Landing closed until 3/2 (tomorrow) and Branson Landing Restaurants shows "closed pending the reopening of the Branson Landing Promenade".

It looks like the list of closures has grown considerably today.  There are now 22 hotels listed and numerous restaurants and attractions.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 2, 2012)

In watching some of the Youtube video's, the tornado appeard to be very random. It would destroy one buidling while leaving the adjecent building virtually untouched. Living in tornado alley, I understand how these things can be random but this one was really odd. It always seems it will take out one side of the street but leave the other side alone. This one looks like it skipped over one building but hit the next, then skipped again before hitting another building. Very strange looking pattern based on what I've seen online. 

We'll be in Branson mid April. While I hope they're able to get things up and running ASAP, it will be interesting to see what is and what isn't damaged. Some of the buildings and older hotels appear to be heading for demolition. Some probably needed to go but some of the old classic signs are irreplacable and I'll miss them. I'll be curious to see how they rebuild the random buildings that will have to come down or, if they rebuild them at all. 

On the bad side, for those who always looked for economical accomadations to rent, it looks as if several hundered old/cheaper hotel rooms will be out of service for the majority of the season.


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## sarahtme (Mar 3, 2012)

We will also be down there in April. Glad there were no fatalities. My kids were worried about the gocarts.   had to explain that there are more important things to worry about.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 3, 2012)

sarahtme said:


> We will also be down there in April. Glad there were no fatalities. My kids were worried about the gocarts.   had to explain that there are more important things to worry about.



But not to a kid going on a trip.  I think only one go-cart track got whacked. There are plenty more around town.


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## Bernie8245 (Mar 3, 2012)

We will be arrive in Branson tomorrow for Surrey Grand Crowne's Owner's Week. We called the resort and they reported everything is proceeding as planned.
Bernie


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