Yesterday, tornadoes touched down in my city and some surrounding communities. My family is safe, as is my home, but I'm still shaken. I think I'm feeling shaky for three main reasons.
First, I've always lived in Massachusetts and I've always believed that my little corner of the world is relatively safe from disaster. For the most part, we don't have earthquakes here or hurricanes. Volcanoes don't erupt. We're not in danger of tsunami waves. New England has always felt safe and free of the natural disasters that plague other parts of the country. This tornado business caught me completely off guard.
Then, there's the fact that the tornado struck so close to home. One tornado touched down only two miles from my house; it hit a neighborhood I drive by frequently, and an area where friends live. While I am grateful that the tornado avoided my house, it's eerie to think about how close it really came. It's even more unsettling to think about the danger my boyfriend was in. He works in a nearby town and a tornado touched down in the parking lot next to his building. Windows were blown out, power lines went down, and trees crashed everywhere. Nearly all the cars in the lot were damaged; some flipped over completely, others were hit with tree branches and debris, and some simply had their windows smashed by rocks. My boyfriend and his coworkers managed to get out of the building safely, but the building is now uninhabitable.
The final reason I still feel shaky is because in the worst-hit areas, the damage and destruction is so complete. Cars were tossed around and landed top-down. Trash barrels, tree branches, and lawn furniture blew together to create small mountains of debris. Roofs were ripped off of schools. The scene that struck me most profoundly was a damaged three-story apartment building made of brick. The whole front of the building had been ripped away by the tornado; what was left looked like some sort of tragic dollhouse—furniture and appliances still inside, but the front wall completely missing. All this complete destruction, and yet, in areas just a couple of miles from the flattened neighborhoods, people were back to business as usual.
I guess that's the eeriest part—the fact that there was a lot of sunshine today and that my house looks no worse for wear, but just down the road, entire homes were blown off their foundations. Four people have already died in Massachusetts as a result of the tornadoes. Towns have declared a state of emergency and the governor called in the National Guard. My little piece of the globe is both completely devastated and wholly unaffected, depending only on which end of the road you happen to be on.
The extremes make my head feel a little woozy. I feel blessed and relieved that my family and friends are safe; a few of our friends suffered some property damage, but to my knowledge no one was seriously hurt and none of their homes were flattened. That being said, neighborhoods I know and love have been destroyed and it will likely take a long time to rebuild. For now, I'm hoping to support my community and help out when I'm needed. I'm also saying a prayer to thank God that everyone I know is all right.
To help with relief efforts, consider making a contribution to the Red Cross.
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