28 November 2013

Tornado hits my home town

The town where I was born and raised, and where my mother still lives, was hit by a tornado Tuesday night. That's a very rare occurrence. It was nothing like the devastating tornado that struck the little town of Washington, Illinois, in the Midwest a few days ago, but the North Carolina tornado caused some injuries and a lot of property damage. I used to live in Illinois too, so I've seen tornadoes and the damage they can cause.

I called my mother last night — Wednesday afternoon her time — and she told me there was no damage at her retirement complex but she'd been without electricity for almost 18 hours. That means she can't use her nebulizer to ease her respiratory distress, she can't cook or even heat water, and of course she has no heat. She said it wasn't really cold there, however, and one of her neighbors had a little sterno contraption for heating water and was supplying the neighbors with hot coffee.

The tornado was what is called a water spout — a tornado that forms over a body of water — that came ashore off the ocean at 10:00 Tuesday night. It crossed over the barrier island that lies just off the mainland and then crossed Bogue Sound and reached the mainland itself. It caused damage on the western edge of Morehead City, N.C. (pop. 8,000), where the town's community college, hospital, tourist center, and post office are located.

The area that suffered the most damage is two miles east of the house where I grew up.
The blue strip along the bottom of the image is the Atlantic Ocean.

The college was closed on Wednesday to allow maintenance crews time to clean up the damage. The hospital, despite damage to windows and the roof, remained open, with electricity supplied by a generator. The post office is closed for the time being as the damage is being assessed. The tourist center suffered broken windows and water damage. Most of the population — as many as 6,000 households and business — was left without electricity.

My mother lives a mile from the hospital. There are many tall pine trees on the grounds of the retirement complex, but apparently they weathered the storm — tornadoes are very localized but very intense. Near the hospital a large number of very old and handsome live oak trees were blown down. Over on the barrier island, the roof was blown off a condominium complex. In both areas affected by the tornado, many cars were damaged or even destroyed. There's a short video clip about the event here.

Decades ago, my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived in the area of Morehead City that sustained the most damage. That was in the days before the college, hospital, and post office were built. My father and his siblings grew up in an old house on the shores of Bogue Sound there.

My great-grandparents' big old wood-frame house stood where the college campus is now. It was destroyed by a strong hurricane in 1960, when I was about 10 years old. The house was lifted up off its foundation by what was thought to be a tornado embedded in the hurricane, turned slightly by the wind, and  dropped back on the ground just slightly off the foundation. Cousins of my father's were living there and were at home when it all happened. They must have been terrified. The old house had to be demolished. I have vivid memories of that 1960 hurricane and others that roared through in the 1950s.

Many of you who read this blog know or have at least met my mother. I'm sure you'll be glad to learn that she's fine. For her and many others, it was a close call. I hope her electricity came back on soon after I talked to her. When I was growing up in Morehead City, we almost never experienced tornadoes except tornadoes embedded in hurricanes or tropical storms when they blew through in late summer and autumn. Weather patterns have changed, that's for sure.

If you want to see some terrifying video of the Illinois tornado, click this link to OhioFarmGirl's recent blog post about it. And Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the U.S.

26 comments:

  1. Thank goodness the phones still worked, so you could be reassured that your mother survived the storm.
    It must be unsettling to live in a place where something so unpredictable and devastating can happen, however infrequently.

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  2. My sister went to my mother's place and took her an old telephone that doesn't require electricity. That's why I could get her on the line. She normally reads the blog so she knows what's going on over here.

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  3. Glad your mother is OK and that you could talk to her on the phone.It must have an terrifying experience! Martine

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  4. Oh Ken, I'm happy to hear that your mother is okay....hope the electricity is restored soon, so she can use her nebulizer again.
    Keep us posted.

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  5. People who live on the Carolina coast, like people who live in California, think it is one of the most beautiful places on earth and damn the hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. By the way, there have been two or three tornadoes in France over the past 7 or 8 years, with significant damage (but not in the Loire Valley so far, where we just get hailstorms and the occasional windstorm off the ocean).

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  6. As everybody said, I'm glad your mother is safe and sound. When you have a chance say hello for me and give her my best. Hope everything's already back to normal for her.

    Here, in Northern Virginia, we were supposed to have sleet and freezing rain, but as far as I know it didn't happen, but it's cold. As you know, it is cold for me when it's below 70°F!

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  7. I am so glad that your mother is well after such a terrifying event and hope her power is restored soon! I am glad you were able to talk to her and know that she was not harmed. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Walt.

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  8. Your mother sounds like a trouper. We're so glad she (and her building and trees) came through.

    Happy Thanksgiving to her, and to you and Walt.

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  9. for heavens sakes! so glad she is ok. happy thanksgiving to you all.
    :-)

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  10. I am sure the people in the retirement home are happy they have only lost power. It is heartbreaking when lives and houses are lost. Scientists have warned us that the weather pattern are changing and will only get worse and worse.
    I hope your mother will have power back on and be able to celebrate Thanksgiving.

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  11. since I am in NC, I heard extensive reports about this on tv, but I didnt know that was your hometown....yikes....glad your mom is OK.....and also glad it wasnt freezing, like it is here in the mntns...it was 23 this am
    happy thanksgiving

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  12. Holy cow, Ken! Something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving day!

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  13. Bonjour, Ken. Glad to hear that your Mom is ok. I for one don't miss hunkering down in our Lebanon, Il basement listening to the wailing of the town's tornado siren.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you and Walt!

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  14. Hello to MA and glad she has weathered another storm. I bet lots of coffee drinkers are thankful for the neighbor with the sterno! So glad your sister thought about a phone that would work or otherwise you would have really been upset.

    I hope the power is turned on asap.

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  15. Ken

    I was thinking of you and her yesterday when I saw it on the news. I didn't want to send you an e-mail in the middle of the night so that you are not alarmed .
    Happy to read that she is fine and hopefully they will have power soon .

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  16. Oh my! Glad your family is ok. Best to MA.

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  17. Cheryl and everyone, I talked to MA a few hours ago and her electricity had been back on since late Weds. afternoon. She sounded good. The cleanup is under way.

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  18. As soon as I heard it had struck Morehead City, I thought of your mom. Glad to hear that she's OK.

    Ginger and I hope you want Walt have a great Thanksgiving.

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  19. I am happy the electricity is back on and your mother is doing well. I am sure it is a huge relief for you, too!

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  20. Thank goodness for friends (sterno contraption - hot coffee, hot water, manual telephone!)
    This is the first I've heard of this incident.
    Our weather is definitely changing.
    So relieved your Mother is okay. That is really good news for all of us to consider on this day of Thanksgiving.
    Thinking of you both and your families.

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  21. Glad to hear everyone is okay after the storm!

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  22. Thanks, Simon and Ginger, Nadège, Starman, Mary. It's hard being so far away.

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  23. Yikes! Best wishes to your Mom and to all; what a scary thing to have happen. (Mary said exactly what I wanted to say; I loved the Sterno story.)

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  24. I'm glad your mom was okay. Things like these are unfortunate but are facts of life we must sadly face. All we can do is prepare and try to minimize the damage.

    Bernadette Bowens

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  25. It's a relief to know that your mother’s fine. The weather these days have taken a turn for the worse, it's terrifying. All we can do is prepare for the worst. It might be difficult to forecast or control the damage that it might cause. However, there’s always something we can do to keep ourselves and our property in times like these.

    Oliver Duncan

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