The Absurdities One Finds In the Aftermath of a Tornado
Posted: Thursday, August 20, 2009
by Mike Fak
http://mikefak.com
With all we had to cover locally this week, we had the added burden of covering another horrendous storm that came through central Illinois.
As usual there were high winds and driving rain but although the city got soaked again, our county neighbors got slammed. A tornado judged to be nine miles in diameter drove through the countryside obliterating everything in it path.
We have been working on pictorials and it is a sad job but since this is most certainly the news, it deserves to be documented not only for today but forever in our archives.
There have been some truly remarkable as well as completely baffling scenes left from the aftermath of this monster tornado.
In one case a pickup truck sits on a concrete pad just fine and dandy. The truck had been inside a garage that lay torn to shreds a half mile out in the cornfield. How does that happen?
In our top picture on Thursday, August 20 th , we show a home that was completely destroyed down to the foundation. Yet amid the wreckage and rubble stands a cheap utility shelf unit with canned goods and jars that wasn't touched at all. How does that happen?
There was one house that only had one side torn off but it was completely gone. The home now looks like a giant dollhouse with one side open but floors, roof and contents in fairly good shape. Imagine what that must have been like to homeowners when that happened. And again, how can something like that happen?
There are some huge trees and utility poles that not only were snapped but they were actually shredded and look like stalks of wooden corn. But right next to them are other trees or poles that don't have a mark on them. Again: a mystery.
In some of the fields lay appliances nowhere near the home where they came from. I have to wonder, marvel and fear a force of nature that can simply pick up a refrigerator and throw it half a mile away. What kind of power must these things have and why did the good Lord allow them to be.
Ten years ago, some of our friends had their home destroyed by a tornado. They lived in a suburb but the twister came down, destroyed two homes and bounced back up in the sky. When they came out of the basement the roof was gone, walls were gone, and contents were either grabbed and churned out into the sky or twisted and broken into garbage: except their china cabinet which stood in the middle of the room unharmed without a single dish or glass broken within its doors.
There is no way to explain that or at least I can't.
The damages are still being assessed and it will be in the millions for sure but there is one other thing that just doesn't make any sense. So far, the worst injury coming out of all this is a broken leg. There is no way to explain that. In this case, an explanation isn't needed, Just a thank you to the good Lord for allowing these folks to remain healthy and well enough to rebuild.
And to marvel and fear the incredible power of nature.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)We are cleaning up today from damage caused by winds from a tornado that touched down near here. We had a tree come down causing some damage and have been without hydro and telephone. The power of nature is an incredible thing to witness. It's also incredible to witness how people come together in times like this. Everyone in the neighbourhood was out afterwards surveying the damage and offering help. We were very lucky no one here was hurt, and very lucky to be surrounded by caring people.
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