T-R photo by Thomas Nelson Downtown Marshalltown got hit again with a powerful storm and strong winds on Monday. Numerous businesses received damage and all of them lost power.

The storm that hit Marshalltown on Monday tore trees apart, brought down power lines and damaged many homes and businesses. In the immediate aftermath, it is difficult to know how hard local businesses have been hit.

“I think things are ranging from loss of power to damage of property,” Lynn Olberding said.

Many businesses are unable to serve customers because of power outages and staffing shortages with employees being unable to come to work because of streets being barred by fallen trees and other debris.

While Marshalltown businesses will likely need the community’s support in the coming days, now is not the time for that.

“Right now everyone is assessing their own situation,” Olberding said.

She encouraged people to keep themselves safe and stay off the streets to help workers make repairs to downed power lines and other damage.

According to Olberding, the Chamber has had trouble reaching out to business members due to the outages. Because of this, they are not sure how many businesses have been affected.

Olberding said it will take some time to figure out the extent of the damage and the repercussions it will have on local businesses.

At the very least, stores will need electricity returned in order to open their doors to customers.

“I think we’ll know more tomorrow,” Olberding said

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Contact Anna Shearer at 641-753-6611 or ashearer@timesrepublican.com