Re: very glad your aunt is ok, Chris
Posted by Chris in Tampa on 4/3/2023, 12:22 am
"The death toll rose to 32 Sunday after a batch of ferocious storms and tornadoes devastated communities across the American South and Midwest, while parts of the Southern Plains braced for their own round of severe weather.

The storm outbreak Friday that walloped the country spawned more than 50 tornado reports in at least seven states, where tornadoes crushed homes and businesses, ripped roofs off buildings, splintered trees and sent vehicles flying."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/us/us-severe-storm-south-midwest-sunday/index.html



So much damage it can hardly be covered. The national news on broadcast TV dedicates several minutes on it, but with so many areas impacted, each area gets little covered to none at all.

The tornado that passed near my aunt was preliminarily an EF-2 with winds of 130mph, a width of 1/2 mile, length of 38 miles and lasted 41 minutes.

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/weather-service-confirms-ef2-tornado-in-wayne-and-lewis-counties
https://www.wkrn.com/weather-headlines/preliminary-ef-2-tornado-130-mph-winds-in-wayne-lewis-counties/

NWS Public Information Statement had this for the area just north of where my aunt lives:

"Further northeast,
the tornado struck the Leatherwood community along Beech Creek
Road, where a few poorly constructed homes were leveled and others
heavily damaged."

This was an example of the damage there. Picture from Google Street View of the before:



From pictures and video on social media, the house on the left mostly survived and has a blue tarp. The two on the right were destroyed. The pictures and video on social media that I've seen actually came from the families that lost those houses. The blue roofed house had four people in the basement that tried to take cover in a bathtub as two covered the other two in the tub. They were all okay. They had actually taken a picture in their basement just before as they were down there for safety. Part of the basement was still there in that house. (they described it as the basement, there is a level under that level that is street level)

The red roofed house to the right had someone there at the time too. (is a house even though it has a sign) A family member posted that their family member survived with minor injuries. It looked to be completely destroyed. I don't know if it had a lower level.

I don't know them and even though their posts are public I won't share the pictures, but I wanted to give an example of what an EF2 can do. It's important to know what to do in a tornado. The four people in the one house thankfully did the right thing. Had anyone been asleep in that first level, they would have likely been killed. There was nothing at all standing on the first level in a picture taken late that night. The slab was there and some remnants of the walls in the basement were still there. The other house in a picture taken the next day was just pile of debris. Some of it may have already been cleaned up.

Everyone should have a plan for a tornado. Know where you should best go in your house. Even though we don't get tornadoes often near me, I know the bathtub I would get into. It's actually a little bit sunken into the ground. It's also in the only room without a window. And if possible, I might put a mattress over it if there was enough time but I see some mixed thoughts on that. (especially if no time as you can't waste time dragging it off a bed) Some other tips I just Googled. Wear shoes in case you need to walk over debris. Have a first aid kit where or near where you will go. Have an air horn to signal to people you are under there. Or make a lot of noise. Never thought about that before. Cover your head and eyes, perhaps with arms or blanket. Be away from windows if possible. Seek shelter in lowest level. If no basement, inner room, hallway or closet. And pay attention to the weather, have a NOAA weather radio or alerts on your phone as long as your phone isn't set to be silent. I would assume we don't have tornado warning sirens anywhere around me.
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Dangerous weather in Mississippi Friday (March 24th) evening - Chris in Tampa, 3/24/2023, 10:06 pm
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