Well, crap.
So, I had an interesting Memorial Day. Well, I should say, Memorial Day weekend. We've been watching these storms come through Oklahoma and Nebraska and moving their way toward us. so I can't say I was terribly surprised, but that doesn't make it any better.
Parkersburg, IA, which isn't all that far away from me at all, was hit by "at least an EF3," but what they're assuming will turn into an EF4 after they study it a bit more. About half the town was decimated. Destroyed, gone, kaput. Thankfully...if thankfully is the right word...only 6 people died in Parkersburg and nearby New Hartford. The residents had more than 5 minutes of warning to get into their basements, which is what saved most of their lives. According to the news, anyway, although the news also said that 4 of the people killed were in their basements. Go figure.
And then yesterday, D and I headed up to Parkersburg to help with the cleanup and search and rescue. A couple of people were still missing (who were found alive, thankfully) and the Red Cross always needs volunteers.
It was...it was weird. Weird's a good word. Also: I hope I never have to see anything like that again, knock on wood. When they say it's like a war zone, they're not kidding. This part of IA is pretty hilly, pretty grassy, lots of trees and the like...but it was just...not. There were hardly any trees and what trees were there were bare. And there were weird things in weird places. Pieces of a playground from a few blocks over were in one person's yard, where a house three houses down the road hadn't suffered any damage at all. Just weird.
Truth be told, all this has done is solidify my desire to never live in a town ending in -burg.
Click to viewParkersburg, IA, which isn't all that far away from me at all, was hit by "at least an EF3," but what they're assuming will turn into an EF4 after they study it a bit more. About half the town was decimated. Destroyed, gone, kaput. Thankfully...if thankfully is the right word...only 6 people died in Parkersburg and nearby New Hartford. The residents had more than 5 minutes of warning to get into their basements, which is what saved most of their lives. According to the news, anyway, although the news also said that 4 of the people killed were in their basements. Go figure.
And then yesterday, D and I headed up to Parkersburg to help with the cleanup and search and rescue. A couple of people were still missing (who were found alive, thankfully) and the Red Cross always needs volunteers.
It was...it was weird. Weird's a good word. Also: I hope I never have to see anything like that again, knock on wood. When they say it's like a war zone, they're not kidding. This part of IA is pretty hilly, pretty grassy, lots of trees and the like...but it was just...not. There were hardly any trees and what trees were there were bare. And there were weird things in weird places. Pieces of a playground from a few blocks over were in one person's yard, where a house three houses down the road hadn't suffered any damage at all. Just weird.
Truth be told, all this has done is solidify my desire to never live in a town ending in -burg.