Devastation.
Wow. I don't even know where to start. For anyone who doesn't know, Alabama has been devastated by tornados. I feel like I am one of the luckiest people in the world right now. So many dead...so many left homeless...over 300,000 people have been without power since Wednesday and will be indefinitely. I just don't know what to do. I cheated death on Wednesday. Here is my story.
I commute about an hour and twenty minutes to my job. We had inclement weather scares pretty much all day, but I knew I had to go in to work that evening. I called the dayshift charge nurse and told her that I would probably be late and that I was going to wait til the weather blew over to leave my apartment. I should have called out and not gone in to work, but the hospital was under a "code black", which is kind of like a disaster prep. They needed me to go in, so I went. The weather was moving in the direction that I was going to be driving, but I waited a while and we thought that I would be driving behind anything dangerous. Unfortunately, the weather stalled when I was about 45 minutes away from home and roughly 30 minutes away from the hospital. I ran right into it. I entered into a city called Trinity, and as soon as I got there I knew I had just missed it. It was in total devastation. A tornado had ripped through the town not 5 minutes prior. There were houses that looked like they had exploded. There was an entire roof of one house in the yard of their neighbor's house. It was completely terrifying, and it wasn't over. There was no power anywhere, and all businesses were closed, so I had no where to pull over for shelter. The radio announcer was screaming over my radio, "IF YOU ARE IN THE IMMEDIATE LISTENING AREA YOU ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!" Do you know what it's like to feel like you may be killed at any minute? There is nothing more terrifying.
So, I continue on in a torrential downpour, trying to find shelter. I suddenly remember there is a hotel about 3 miles away and I all but fly there. I made it there, and ran inside. When I made it inside, I broke down. I had a complete panic attack. There were about 40 people in the lobby and around the hotel, but I felt completely alone. No one could get a call out on a cell phone, so I couldn't contact my husband, or anyone else for that matter. I ended up stuck at the hotel for over two hours, and while I was there, most of North Alabama was destroyed. Entire cities just blown away like they never existed. After the weather passed, I was able to get to the hospital. All of my loved ones, and myself, are alive and unharmed. I am blessed beyond belief.
Ambulances were bringing in people found in the rubble all night. Search and rescue workers were finding people in trees and lakes, over 300 yards away from where they were originally. There are hundreds dead, and more missing. I just can't believe this has happened. People are working tirelessly so restore power and there are so many disaster efforts being made. It is wonderful to see the south and the rest of the country coming together in this way.
I commute about an hour and twenty minutes to my job. We had inclement weather scares pretty much all day, but I knew I had to go in to work that evening. I called the dayshift charge nurse and told her that I would probably be late and that I was going to wait til the weather blew over to leave my apartment. I should have called out and not gone in to work, but the hospital was under a "code black", which is kind of like a disaster prep. They needed me to go in, so I went. The weather was moving in the direction that I was going to be driving, but I waited a while and we thought that I would be driving behind anything dangerous. Unfortunately, the weather stalled when I was about 45 minutes away from home and roughly 30 minutes away from the hospital. I ran right into it. I entered into a city called Trinity, and as soon as I got there I knew I had just missed it. It was in total devastation. A tornado had ripped through the town not 5 minutes prior. There were houses that looked like they had exploded. There was an entire roof of one house in the yard of their neighbor's house. It was completely terrifying, and it wasn't over. There was no power anywhere, and all businesses were closed, so I had no where to pull over for shelter. The radio announcer was screaming over my radio, "IF YOU ARE IN THE IMMEDIATE LISTENING AREA YOU ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!" Do you know what it's like to feel like you may be killed at any minute? There is nothing more terrifying.
So, I continue on in a torrential downpour, trying to find shelter. I suddenly remember there is a hotel about 3 miles away and I all but fly there. I made it there, and ran inside. When I made it inside, I broke down. I had a complete panic attack. There were about 40 people in the lobby and around the hotel, but I felt completely alone. No one could get a call out on a cell phone, so I couldn't contact my husband, or anyone else for that matter. I ended up stuck at the hotel for over two hours, and while I was there, most of North Alabama was destroyed. Entire cities just blown away like they never existed. After the weather passed, I was able to get to the hospital. All of my loved ones, and myself, are alive and unharmed. I am blessed beyond belief.
Ambulances were bringing in people found in the rubble all night. Search and rescue workers were finding people in trees and lakes, over 300 yards away from where they were originally. There are hundreds dead, and more missing. I just can't believe this has happened. People are working tirelessly so restore power and there are so many disaster efforts being made. It is wonderful to see the south and the rest of the country coming together in this way.
Click to view