Tornado Damage

We spent yesterday with Robin and Tommy (my sister and brother-in-law) as they continued to sort through items scattered by the Tornado that hit their home on Tuesday evening.

This view is of their home as you start up the hill towards it. They live at the end of the road, so if you're driving here you're going to their house. You can see a little bit remaining of one end of their home through the trees. They chose this spot to build their home because of the great view from on top of the hill and the many beautiful surrounding trees.

This is coming a little closer to the front of the house.

This tree snapped right into two pieces.

When they pulled up to their home on Wednesday morning to get their first view of the damage in the daylight, all 4 of their dogs came running to greet them. They were all very glad to see one another! The dogs are staying with a neighbor for now until the upheaval of these first few days is over. (Haven't they got some of the most gracious neighbors in the world?)

This is what the back of their home looks like now. The tornado took out the center of the house and left a little bit standing on each side. Robin and Tommy had some of their clothes still in their closet. My parents took 20 loads to the laundromat on Wednesday and we brought home with us for washing a few quilts, blankets, etc., that we were able to gather from around their property.

Seth wasn't quite so fortunate. The clothes he found are either very high up in trees, or torn/ripped beyond repair.

The remains of Tommy's shop. This is where he kept most of his tools.

The view from their back porch where they saw the tornado approaching (by the light from the lightning). Thank the Lord they saw it coming and had plenty of time to get to their neighbor's basement.

These two wooden dog houses in the center of the picture never moved from their original spots.

Tommy and Papa (my dad) sort through various items. Look at how the tree was split in the right-hand side of the frame.

Clockwise from top left - Robin, Mama (my mom), Catherine, and Elizabeth. Robin needed all the caffeine she could get.

Two electricity trucks and a police officer's vehicle on the road in front of their house. At one time on Thursday, there were 9 electricity trucks lined up on their road. The trucks came from Little Rock, which is about 120 miles away.

Current view from their back porch.

The two Catherines (my Mom and daughter) take a break from their clean-up duties. They actually found a couple of chairs to sit on.

Tommy hopes he'll wake up in the morning and find it's all been a bad dream.

Papa finds something else worth salvaging.