WOW. I am so glad that you all made it through that without being killed. That’s amazing considering that it was a direct hit. As bad as this is, it could have been so much worse.
Hope the rebuilding process goes as well as can be expected.
Wow. Glad you’re okay, and good thinking on your part.
Dayum dude, that’s an amazing story and I’m so glad you, the missus and the kitterz are around to tell it. Best wishes with the reconstruction. I guess it goes without saying that additional resources will be poured into the next ManCave, obviously a well deserved and proven place to focus such.
Add my “holy crap” and “glad your family, kitties included, are safe.” to the pile.
Yes, it certainly can sound like a train, but also yes, it can happen very fast.
I’ve never taken a direct hit from a tornado, but a few years ago one went by just a few blocks from my place. We were huddled in the dark (power was out) in the middle of the night hearing all manner of crashing, thudding, crunching, crushing, and train noises. It was all the trees and building parts flying around nearby.
We never heard the warning sirens. The local governments were able to prove they had, in fact, set them off - the noise from the storm and debris actually drowned out the sound of the warning sirens.
Good to hear you and the family are safe, Jolly Roger/
Absolutely terrifying! I’m glad to hear that your all okay. Here’s hoping everything goes smoothly with the insurance company and I’ll be keeping you in my prayers.
Holy crap. Glad you’re all safe, including the kitties. I’ve been near a tornado, but never underneath one.
Why don’t homes in Arkansas have basements? Would they flood? I’d never buy a home without a basement for fear of a tornado and it’s not like Ohio is in the middle of tornado alley. I’ve been told that there are many places where basements are very rare, and I’ve always wondered why.
Jeasus, JR, glad all are okay.
Can the ACS help out at all until USAA gets involved?
I’m glad you and your family - both human and furry - are ok. You let us know if you need** anything** at all.
I think you’re going to be surprised at the things you’re able to salvage - there’ll be stuff under stuff under stuff under stuff. When my cousin’s trailer (I know, I know, tornado magnet!) was completely destroyed, she found her great grandma’s china still safe and sound under a pile of debris.
The water table is too close to the surface in that part of NC to allow for a basement. Even in my part of the state, it’s rare to see a true (dug into the ground) basement; most of them are “walk-out” basements, where the entire house is basically built on a hill.
Jolly Roger, I’m glad you and your family (kitties too) made it through OK.
Like all the rest here, it’s good to hear you and your wife and cats survived. I’ve got a sister in Raleigh; we heard from them right away that they were fine.
Good wishes for getting everything you need straightened out quickly.
Sounds like these tornadoes were incredibly destructive. Here’s a story from NPR. They also ran a story about a guy who was holding a 3-month-old nephew in his arms when the tornado came through. The baby was ripped out of his arms, but survived without injuries. :eek: :eek: :eek: 
Glad you are alive!
I have a technical question- did you have any windows or doors open?
It sounds like the trees would have taken care of the house anyhow, but one of my neighbors about thirty years back took a direct hit, and the garage/barn imploded as there was no window open, but the house was fine because there were two windows open to equalize pressure…
Anyone know if that is true? Did you have anything open?
Seriously- glad your whole family (pets and all) made it through alive and well… I have wanted to be close to disaster, but not quite that close!
As someone upthread said, it will be a story for the grandkids!
That’s a myth. Leave the windows closed; they’ll block winds and keep out flying debris for a while at least. Houses aren’t airtight anyway.
Besides, if my understanding is correct, the myth/theory is that opening the windows will keep the house from exploding not imploding since the tornado will create a low pressure system outside the house.
Let me add my sincerest wishes for a brighter future for you and the Mrs.
Wow.
So glad to hear that you and the Mrs. and the cats are all safe and sound. Sounds like good quick thinking on your part to get somewhere safe. Here’s to hoping that you find more to salvage than you think…
My only little bit of advice would be, since the contents of your house went flying around the neighborhood, it is possible that your personal information and documents could wind up in the wrong hands. Not having a set address for awhile can compound the problem if some jerk decides to steal your identity. Be extremely vigilant and careful for the foreseeable future, keep close tabs on your credit report, okay?
Believe it or not, there’s a lot of lowlives that wait for opportunities like natural disasters to find victims for this kind of crap, as many Katrina victims can tell you.
I had just shut a few nidows that were open to stop the rain before the “event”. I don’t know if its true or not about houses imploding, but I don’t think tornadoes need any help in busting up houses.
Heck, I just found out I was on CNN today. (It was right after it happened and I was talking about the cat missing, so I guess if you saw it you know who I am now)
USAA assured me that my policy covers me for all of this nightmare and our house can be rebuilt. Razed first, but a new house can be built on the property. Heck, our policy for personal belongings is, to be honest, way more that what our stuff is worth.
I’m not sure if the cars are a loss or not. They’re under the entrance of the garagew and the one wall of it that isn’t standing, but leaning on my jeep. My wifes car is under the main support and its moved since yesterday. I’m thinking its frame is probably too damaged to repair. Considering the house has been declared a total loss I think both cars will need to be replaced.
At least the Chaplain came to see me today…and the battalion commander called me. Plus all of my friewnds have been caslling and offering support. But I think we’ll be okay. While we still have much to do, the wife and I were even thinking about what changes we’d like in the house as it has to be rebuilt from scratch.
But really, the devastation is horrible to my neighborhood. I saw an old lady carrying her belongings out of a ruined house this morning down the street. The houses around her were smashed. It made me openly weep. Certainly none of us expected a tornado. Saturday morning I was drinking ocffee and thinking about how much pine straw was in the yard. Playing Civ 5 (not 7, it was a typo :)). Wondering how I’d handle a few things at work. Today, I’m crammed into our friends apartment, nothing much but the clothes on my back and even my car is inop.
We’ll be focusing on finding a place to rent this week, and finding a contractor to build our “new” house. I’m concerned foer Patches, as the experience really shook her. Every little noise scares her now and she’s been hiding most of the time. Jet Jaguar and Banshee seem to be handling things in stride. Banshee, being about 14 or 15 is content to sleep most of the time. Plus, our friend that is putting us up is a person she “likes”. She’d sleep on his lap when he cam to visit us. Jet acts like he understands the situation and is just happy to be alive and fed regularlly. I know Patches will get over it, I just hate seeing her so scared.
Thanks everyone for your prayers and well wishes. Please spread that out to my neighbors. We’re all trying to recover from this.
I believe you. Even the cops told me that the first night of curfew. I couldn’t stay too talte, but the first night my nieghbor and I held vigil on our block until the cops set up roadblocks and portablw lights. I wish I could sya I was surprised that there are assholes in the world that prey on people in this situation. We didn’t see any that night and thats good because…well, they would have been shot.
I’m glad you and your wife and the kitties were ok!!
I’m glad you have a good insurance company and I hope that planning for the new house will cheer you guys up some. Stories like this make me hope really hard that a tornado never hits my place. I don’t have renter’s insurance.