Residents in Burke, South Dakota, were stunned by the devastation wrought by a severe storm and a tornado that touched down in the center of town Tuesday night.

Walls of a school and the civic center were blown off. Windows were blown out of the courthouse. The locally owned lumberyard, one of the biggest businesses in town, is destroyed. A senior center was damaged, and at least two homes lost their roofs

“Last night it was dark out, you couldn’t really see how bad it was," city finance officer Mike Glover told weather.com Wednesday morning. "I know when I came down this morning I was extremely shocked.”

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Two people were injured.

A National Weather Service team visited Burke Wednesday and confirmed that an EF1 tornado with estimated winds of 110 mph struck the town.

Burke, population 604, sits near the Nebraska state line about 150 miles west of Sioux Falls.

Glover was at home when he noticed the weather pick up around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night. He lives several blocks from the main part of town that took the brunt of the damage, but he said most of the town felt the effects of the storm.

“There’s trees down everywhere," Glover said. "There was a 60-to-70-foot pine tree in my neighbor’s yard. It took it completely out of the ground.”

The severity of the storm took him and other residents by surprise.

“There was no tornado warning or even a tornado watch," he said.

Much of the region was under thunderstorm watches and warnings last night, and winds gusted in excess of 70 mph in some places, according to the National Weather Service.

Mistie Sachtjen, chief executive officer of Community Memorial Hospital in Burke, confirmed the two injuries were not life threatening.

The fact that there weren't more severe injuries or even deaths was an "absolutely, complete miracle,” Sachtjen said.

The city posted several photos on social media showing the damage.

Glover said all the buildings that sustained the worst damage were in the same block of town. The civic center, a community gathering place that includes a meeting room and gymnasium, was pummeled, as was the lumberyard.

“That is basically wiped out," Glover said. "The whole thing … that’s all pretty much gone.”

Parts of the middle and high school, including the gym and band room, also were hit. Glover said there may have been some minor damage to the elementary school as well.

With classes set to start in just two weeks, he said the school board had called for an emergency meeting.

Gregory County Emergency Management Director Brad Christensen said he rushed into town around 10 p.m. after he received a report that there was severe weather and damage in Burke. He had a hard time driving due to the winds, and was blown off the road - twice.

“I was actually overdriving road conditions trying to get here," Christensen said.

“I literally got blew off the road by the time I got here.”

He said the small town's fire and ambulance crews, both manned by volunteers, couldn't get to their station because of downed trees.

"Most of them actually walked to get here," he said.

There was a call to rescue people trapped in a collapsed garage.

“So I think the firefighters walked to the call about three blocks away and they lifted the door off and the people got out,” Christensen said.

First responders also used wheelchairs to push some residents of a senior citizens complex half a block to the hospital because the power was out.

Christensen said neighbors came out of their houses in the dark when it was all over.

“It was actually crowded, you would have thought they were getting ready for a parade,” he said.

He said several other local fire departments responded but weren't needed.

Sachtjen, the hospital CEO, said everyone was pitching in to help.

"We're a strong community," she said. "We’ll clean up.”