There is nothing pretty about a tornado or tornado damage, and take cover now is a warning best heeded.
Period.
This past Sunday afternoon we learned that lesson firsthand as our town-neighborhood-house was hit by a tornado.
Photo~Cheryl Davis
We are no strangers to the force and fury of a hurricane.
A tornado however, is an extremely rare occurrence in Central Louisiana. This tornado experience was a first for us.
Our local news station was live on the air with the entire weather team covering the storm. The senior weatherman shouted “take cover now” and with that we took cover in the guest bathroom bathtub.
We never did hear the roaring train sound so many people remark they hear as a tornado approaches or when one is overhead.
What we did hear is the terrifying sound of trees, shingles, and various projectiles hitting the house.
The entire top of our neighbor’s magnolia tree was the first thing we saw as we opened our front door.
Salvaged magnolia leaves placed in a mason jar injects a touch of simple beauty and Southern comfort into this otherwise ugly situation.
Utilities are truly a beautiful thing.
We lost power Sunday afternoon, got it back a little before midnight, lost it again Monday morning and didn’t see the light of lights until last night at 9:51 pm CST.
A big, big thank you goes out to the utilities workers for a job well done and most appreciated.
That was then,
and this is now.
The crepe myrtle to the immediate right is history as is the hydrangea. The bird feeder chandelier was found one street over.
Howdy Do (the jockey) and the bird bath may be down but not out of the lawn and garden beautification game.
The roof is heavily damaged and the inside of the house is a victim of stained ceilings, wet carpets, dirty floors, etc…
Clorox bleach and Lysol spray is suddenly a hot commodity.
My desk/computer is in Dave’s man cave, and a large part of the ceiling in the room is soaked through and through.
That’s an odor one can only take for a few minutes at a time.
Blogging will slow as the smell increases.
I will probably need several more bottles of this stuff before all of this is over.
Roofs, ceilings, floors and sheetrock can be fixed.
We are safe and that’s all that matters.
Period.
Darleen,
I am grateful that you are okay! What a stressful event, the aftermath, the clean up. Perhaps activated charcoal, and those Damp Rid moisture collectors (at Home Depot and Dollar Tree), will help. Let’s hope things are back to normal sooner, rather than later!
Thank you so much Margaret. I totally forgot about the Damp Rid moisture collectors at Dollar Tree. Great suggestion-fabulous reminder. Believe me, my mind is scattered at this point. I mopped the ceiling beams in Dave’s man cave this morning with Clorox trying to kill the smell. Did it help? No, but it made me feel better. Will be checking in throughout the week. Have a great weekend.
What takes place over a large area in what seems a nano second of time is mind-boggling. The damage to our house is minimal compared to the devastation you describe, scenes from the Midwest plains, and what so many victims experience North of us throughout Tornado Alley. A friend who lives “up North” called to check on us. She wanted to know why we didn’t seek shelter in the basement. Being from Louisiana you know we don’t do basements down here. It was more like rub a dub dub, three scared souls in a tub. Thank you for including us in your prayers and thoughts. It means so much to me!
Hi Darleen,
Oh, us Northerners and our fixation with basements!! Tell her, “Oh yeah, silly me, I misplaced ours!”
In the 60s, ours apparently was “safe” during the Cuban Crisis. Yep, stocked with canned food under the stairs. I can’t even…
Anyway, mere hours after your post, us Northerners had a Tornado warning. Nothing really happened here, just some downed trees and lost power, not even worth mentioning. Thankfully.
Oh, persevere, fan yourself and maybe try UV light, a humidifier and prayers, too?
XO