The local call-in radio show today had on a survivor of the 1974 Xenia, Ohio tornado, and someone from the Weather Service. It was interesting (if horrifying). I had already heard that the recent Alabama outbreak was the largest tornado outbreak in the history of the US - previously, that Xenia outbreak had held the record - but I didn’t realize that there were nearly twice as many tornadoes this time. That’s…jaw-dropping.
Good lord. :eek:
Seriously, it is a huge disaster. Think of pretty much an entire state reduced like San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake … [though not as much fire, thankfully.]
Have they got a more current cost estimate? Last one I heard was a couple days ago.
And have they any idea if this intensity is going to keep up throughout the entire tornado season 
I doubt it. Tornadoes are always a risk in the Spring, but a “perfect” system like this is normally a once-every-few-decades event. However, I should point out that it’s like flood estimates - “unlikely” is a statistical term. The same atmospheric conditions could set up the exact same way next week, for all we know.
OK, from Wiki:
The Xenia survivor on the radio, by the way, said that he can’t even watch coverage from Alabama because it hits too close to home for him. He said it was really similar to what he remembered, “like a nuclear bomb had gone off.”
Number 6 came very close to me, and hit a subdivision a few miles to the north. My neighborhood had a lot of damage from trees, and a house in a nearby subdivision burned to the ground after the roof was hit by lightening. On a moonless night after the storms we stood in the street with neighbors and watched the glow of the fire a few blocks away.
Our power was out from Wednesday morning to Monday morning, and my workplace in Research Park only got power last night. One of my co-workers lost his house to #10 - his wife and baby survived huddled in their bathroom, the only room that was left standing.
I’m still horrified every time I see pictures of this; can’t imagine what it’s like to be there.
On public radio this afternoon (can’t remember if it was ATC or Marketplace) they said that they were estimating that the costs of the damage in Alabama would exceed the costs of Katrina damage.
Really just wanted you to know that I’ve been following this thread and thinking about all of you.
The thing that kicks my gut is the volume of debris. Disposing of it will be a nightmare on top of a hell of a lot of hard work.
Today I picked my friend up since her car was destroyed (the one I had mentioned in Smithville, one of the many towns that were completely wiped out). She’s in that stage where it’s pretty much all she talks about and she gets teary eyed every once in a while, and I can tell things are strained between her and her husband. But she’s excited because we are graduating this weekend and, being a religious sort, has decided that between the total destruction of her house and learning the previous week that upon graduation her company would not be keeping her, that this is a sign for her to start over. She’s doing ok, but of course, today was the first Wednesday of the month - the day they test the weather sirens. I know they have to test them, but damn. I sure do wish for the victims that it hadn’t been on the first week back after the storm. I am consistently amazed at the levels in one’s life that destruction can reach.
On a lighter note - when we were doing clean-up it was nice to see so many helping in the community. As I hauled the remains of what had to be a 500000 lb. kitchen table some random girls came up and gave me cold gatorade. We passed multiple stands with signs out for “free hot food” and “free drinks” and such. We didn’t even have to go far to find a bathroom! I hate this happened to people, but seeing the goodness of people warms my heart a bit.
Of course, you always end up with people like this.
Depressing, and, at the same time, infuriating.
This thread needs to stay afloat. Any updates.
I am in middle Georgia. About 1am I was asleep on the couch when my sister woke my up dragging me into the bathroom. Just as we got in I heard a train go by the house except we don’t have train tracks. It was just a roar. Unbelievable to be in the midst of something I had only heard about. It jumped over our house but neighbors were killed, and others somehow survived houses turned into rubble. You drive through a neighborhood and can’t see where the Brown’s house was or the place I took piano lessons or the car repair shop. I am upset and still frightened and sickened to know how they died, what they experienced. I want to go home and I will tomorrow.
I spent most of yesterday in Tuscaloosa and all I can say is “Damn”. 15th Street (very busy business area on one side and lower middle class neighborhood on t he other) looks like a 2 mile long anvil dropped on it- lots of fast food places, an apartment complex, a large shopping center, and streets and streets of frame houses are just a gigantic junkyard. It really does look like a bombing raid. In one of the neighborhoods there’s also the unmistakable smell of decomposition that I hope is from animals.
I want to post the pictures of the donated clothing at the relief shelter to my facebook with a plea for people to STOP COLLECTING CLOTHES. They not only don’t need them, they can’t handle them- there’s a mountain of the damned things with people dropping off more every few minutes, some of them even though they were specifically asked not to when they called for directions. (One bitch was all cornfield attitude about it: “I got five- hundred pounds of clothes in my SUV and I need 'em out and I cain’t git 'em out by myself!!!”, this to volunteers who were busy unloading a truckload of Anheuser Bush water with a forklift but not fast enough for Witchiepoo’s charitable patience.)
The clothing that’s been moved inside- some of it nice, some of it disgraceful, most in between- reminds you a lot of the scenes from Schindler’s List. There is literally TONS AND TONS AND TONS of it in the warehouse (a large empty building that’s been donated) and many times that outside in garbage bags and laundry bins and boxes and sometimes just stacked loose.
Sampiro, the same thing happened on the Mississippi coast after Katrina. The best thing people can donate is money. It’s portable and won’t spoil. Give your clothes to the Salvation Army.
Sorry not to have responded before now – Aries28 and I, along with our families, came through fine. Aries28 has been volunteering for the past several weekends in Pratt City while I watch the kids at home and try to keep up with the housework.
It’s still amazing to see the amount of damage, almost four weeks later.
Joplin, Missouri, looks as bad, if not worse, tonight.
I shudder to think what the final death toll will be.
Yes! I could have used some hip waders for clothes a few years ago, but those weren’t there. Keep the used clothes and give money for purchasing what people need in new not ready to break down condition. You need dependable equipment that is right for you and what you are doing. Money people it’s what to donate. Clothes are for when you find your neighbor without them the day of a disaster.