Tornado Hit, Hug Your Family

[highpockets]

Haven't been around for awhile, a week now I suppose. Last Thursday, just got done lifting, PUSH NIGHT, had my protein shake and sat down in the kitchen to watch the weather as there were some thunder boomers moving through the area. Some serious weather as I have never seen was on the radar screen. A few minutes later my NOAA weather radio tells me there is a twister on the ground 6 miles south of our small Indiana town. Ten seconds later our town's tornado sirens start screaming. I gather the family and dogs and we hit the basement. My 18 year-old daughter and her boyfriend were about a mile down the road at our family's best friends house watching a movie. About a minute after we hit the basement my cell phone starts ringing and I see it's my oldest. "Dad, the twister hit us." I'm out the door with my phone and flashlight, jump into my truck and race the longest 1 mile of my life through the tail end of some serious wind.

What I find is right out of the movies. I know we live in "Tornado Alley" and we have tornado watches all the time, but this is the first time we have been seriously hit. I arrive at our friend's home to find the second story completely gone. Everyone is still in the basement with debris everywhere. Water is pouring in the first floor. Thankfully their backup generator has kicked in and a few lights are still on. I find my daughter and although very shaken she has nary a scratch on her beautiful head.

Reported 10 million in damage. 55 homes and businesses destroyed. NO deaths, only minor injuries. Finding my daughter alive and unharmed, PRICELESS!

Hug your family today!

 

[DOMS]

That's crazy!

I'm glad it turned out well for your daughter. Did you friend have tornado insurance?

 

[highpockets]

Yes, they had insurance. Matter if fact I'm the controller at an electrical contractor here in town and we just wired a temporary panel in a mobile home that their insurance company just set in their front yard. They are gong to live in this until the home is rebuilt. Adjuster says, because of structural integrity, the house has to come down to the foundation. Upside is they get a brand new home. Downside, my bestfriend and I built this house. Lots of memories, laughs and cold beers! Oh well, everyone is alive!

Google - Nappanee; Indiana; Tornado; for some photos.

 

[maniclion]

In Texas we had a tornado pop down and squat on one home, jump a few blocks and squat on another home. It was weird to see a home completely destroyed while the one next to it looked perfectly fine, I mean even the yard was clean yet the trail of rubbish was across the street even in the home across from it's backyard!!! Those twisters are so weird...

 

[min0 lee]

Wow, thank god she's all right and no one else is hurt.

 

[KentDog]

A tornado hit Iowa City the spring before last, about a block from where I was living at the time. It ripped up houses and a few businesses. Crazy what kind of damage they can do. We get tornado warnings all the time, but never did I expect that.

Glad your daughter and everyone else is alright.

 

[Dale Mabry]

Yes, they had insurance. Matter if fact I'm the controller at an electrical contractor here in town and we just wired a temporary panel in a mobile home that their insurance company just set in their front yard. They are gong to live in this until the home is rebuilt. Adjuster says, because of structural integrity, the house has to come down to the foundation. Upside is they get a brand new home. Downside, my bestfriend and I built this house. Lots of memories, laughs and cold beers! Oh well, everyone is alive!

Happy your family is ok, sucks what happened, but sounds like a few more laughs and several hundred cold beers may be in your future. Don't think you can beat that.

 

[Stonewall]

Glad you and your family are ok. An F4 tornado hit my home town of Enterprise, AL on March 1 this year. Completely destroyed the high school and killed a total of 9 and damaged or destroyed 350 homes in a town of 22,000. As bad as it was, it could have been much worse.

 

[Little Wing]

glad your family is ok.

 

[vortrit]

glad your family is ok.

Ditto. I hate tornadoes.

 

[highpockets]

Thanks everyone! It was pretty miraculous that there were no deaths and only minor injurys. They say the tornado was an F3 and it was on the ground for a total of 20 miles. Some guy found mail from our town 40 miles North of here in Michigan. It could have definitely been much worse. Thanks again!