Okay, I'm back online!

[lastlib]

Sure is good to see you again, DU!

Some of you may have heard about the tornado that struck my hometown Monday night--caused a lot of devastation to property, but, thankfully, no deaths or serious injuries, even though it has been rated an EF3 event. I was at a scout meeting when it came through; much of the damage was focused on two subdivisions six blocks from our meeting place. Again, thankfully, no injuries or serious damage where we were meeting. But at least six of my scouts' families suffered damages to their homes, some pretty major.

Before hitting the town proper, it tore through a rural area two miles from my house. We had some strong winds, and a big door blew off my barn, but no other damage. But the places it hit have the look of a war zone. A cinderblock barn was just flattened, as was a trailer home up the road. Roofs and siding were ripped off, an RV was rolled over onto its top, outbuildings were broken, trees were splintered into toothpicks. At one house, a tractor-truck cab was flipped on end and smashed against a clump of trees (anybody in that cab would've been killed). In a cemetery up the road, tombstones were pulled out of the ground, tossed around, dropped and shattered. Major electric lines were torn down, and many are still without power. (Mine was restored Wednesday afternoon--hence my absence online.) Due to the lines being down across roads, not to mention trees, my normal ten-minute drive home from meeting was nearly two hours, and I wound up driving to a town twelve miles away and taking a back route to my house from there.

So it has--literally!--been a whirlwind couple of days, but for me and my family (two elderly parents), we're uninjured and largely undamaged. A few of my friends and fellow scout folks aren't so fortunate, and will be quite a while recovering from this devastating event. But all in all, they, too, are safe. And Mother Nature--for now--is calm again.

It's good to be back here again!

[True Dough]

1. I don't think we've formally been introduced

but glad to hear you and your family survived unscatched, lastlib.

Welcome back!

[Skittles]

2. scary stuff

my dad was a weather forecaster and he hated tornadoes the most, because their paths were so unpredictable

[applegrove]

3. Glad you are okay.

[irisblue]

4. Glad to have you back! When I was a kid, the Palm Sunday Outbreak in 1965

Freaked me out forever bout tornados.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

5. It's good to have you back

Take care and I hope things improve quickly for your area.

[mnhtnbb]

6. Lucky for you! I lived in tornado alley for 12 years and was in the basement

many times, but never experienced a tornado until a few years ago on a Sunday afternoon in Raleigh.

We were at the ballet in a large civic auditorium and the performance was almost over. All of a sudden the stage lights went off,
the dancers were called off the stage, and we heard the sound like a freight train outside.

The tornado went right over us. When it was all clear and we were allowed to leave there were trees down everywhere. We walked to
our car--parked in an outside lot--fearing the worst and there were only a few small branches scattered in the lot. The poor parking attendant
told us he had hunkered down between cars because he had nowhere to go!

The traffic lights were out the direction we normally go down Saunders St. to get to the freeway, so we headed a different way and were able to get out of Raleigh and get home without encountering blocked roads.

When we got home we turned on the TV and learned the tornado had come right over us up Saunders St.

http://www.wral.com/2011-tornadoes-had-profound-impact-on-people-businesses-schools-in-raleigh/15633271/

[Phentex]

7. Glad you all are safe...

welcome back!

[femmocrat]

8. Glad you are all safe, lastlib.

TG, I have never experienced a tornado, although they have passed through our country several times. Sounds absolutely terrifying!