Wild Night

[phrog]

Just got back my electricity. 8 dead about 10 miles south of me in Ringgold, GA. 9 dead about 5 miles north of me in Apison, TN. Path of destruction about 5 miles west of me as the tornado moved from one to the other without leaving the ground. Experts think it was a F4. Major destruction 3 miles east of me. No damage here at all. Absolutely unbelievable! God was smiling down on our neighborhood. It is thought that 6 tornadoes touched down the same day in Bradley County just north of here. I've read that 3 in the same day is extremely rare. Wow! God was smiling down on my neighborhood.

[Kristofor]

I really do not think that it makes much difference if you have a house trailer, house built on a slab or a concrete block house, these monster storms eat them all. The only escape from its wrath is in a strorm shelter or a basement. Basements are rare in the deep south. I think about the emergency plans to get in a closet or bathroom and cover up, but from the damages that I have witnessed that would be the worst place to be. You would just be in the middle of the trash ball that your house had become.

Yep, that's the point I meant to make (far more prevalent basements in other regions) but apparently phrased poorly. In my mind trailer house or on-slab meant no basement but clearly there are other types of construction without one.

That said, even in a basement when the whole house is ripped up above you there is still potentially fatal danger from other blown or falling debris.

Someone is making a storm protection box device that appears about as big as a work bench that you get in and lock the door, and hold on for dear life. It may be a good retro-fit for houses without storm protection facilities.

Hey, if an old fridge can help Indy in a nuclear blast why not? Probably wouldn't help much if it went airborne itself, but good protection if the roof/walls are torn off.

[tommyt654]

Hey Richard, Glad to hear you made it thru the night. I'm down in Cartersville, bout an hour from you. Ringold got slammed as did other smaller towns down near here. Adairsville and White, Ga..Tried to get some pics to post here today but local L.E. had roads blocked off to all but local homeowners(good idea), maybe get some later this week but we did get to see a few hundred trees that were knocked down but had to turn around before we could snap any pics, maybe later in the week.Surprisingly we see a lot of basement homes in our area, but not the dominate structure. After listening to a few weather guru's this week we'll prolly be in for more storms like this later on as there appears to be an unusual jet stream flow going across the nation that will more than likely lead to a few more of these types of storms. We'll prolly be building a storm shelter of sorts. Concrete w/reiinforced steel seems to be the norm and not that expensive maybe 2k, well worth the investment considering the alternative

[phrog]

Yeah, Tommy, I've heard the same about the jet stream. Hopefully, they're wrong. Really wreaked havoc in Ringgold. Authorities blocked off all access to the town. They were going through the rubble looking for victims that might still be alive and there was so much devastation that 911 calls were going unanswered. They didn't want to deal with sightseers and I don't blame them. The row of fast food eateries along the I75 exits are mostly gone from what I've read. (Taco Bell, Krystal, etc.) Most homes in the small town are gone or badly damaged. I had a lot of patients from there while practicing dentistry. Hope they all made it. Glad to hear they you'all came through okay. Dig in and pray!

[tommyt654]

Yeh, I heard the same. We got married there. A short story for those who do not know the history of Ringold ,Its the only town in Ga. that still allows you to get a marriage license and have a JP perform the ceremony in the same day, hence a lot of foolish young couples in love (not me ) go there to git hitched. We were both well past being young, but perhaps foolish still suits us ,although we are still together after 7yrs, so at this age prolly stuck with each other