Damage and destruction are not the kind of attractions tourists associate with Branson.
On this day, the only flashing lights belonged to police cars, and no one was smiling in front of a camera.
"We were on the way to Graceland to find Elvis and we stopped in for a day as we were traveling by," said Chris and Jackie Dotremont who were visiting from Winnepeg, Canada. "we saw everything there is to see here - so many theater shows. We've never been to that."
The Dotremonts say this is a trip they'll never forget, but for the wrong reason.
"This is devastating. We're not used to that. We're from snow country. We can't stay. We feel really bad for all the people."
The severe weather ripped through the heart of the Branson Strip, tearing down the kind of attractions where visitors like the Dotremonts shop, stay and play: the Branson Mall, the Blue Bayou Inn, and the Haunted House and Monster Asylum.
And if the Dotremonts leave early, that's bad news for Branson business owners like Jon Rasmussen, who recently opened an old-time American diner.
"We spent the past four months doing this renovation and general construction," Rasmussen told KSPR News. "You're looking forward to a good season."
The exact area of the strip that has the most damage is basically a zig-zag along Highway 76/Country Music Boulevard, between Gretna Road and Epps Road.
The heaviest damage was reported on the western edge of the Strip, near the Bandstand Theater.
