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revdorothyl: missmurchsion made this (Future)
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keeping tornado victims in my prayers

posted by [personal profile] revdorothyl at 03:08pm on 27/05/2008
I'd just forwarded some news about the tornado damage in Parkersburg, Iowa to my folks, when my mother emailed back to remind me (well, I never actually KNEW this in the first place) that her first cousin Ruth -- the cousin whose wedding dress she'd worn for her own wedding to my father back in 1958 -- lives in Parkersburg with all her family. They're not named among the dead, but we haven't heard any other news from them yet.

Remind me not to complain the next time I'm visiting friends or family in Iowa and Nebraska and have to spend the evening cowering in a corner of the basement because the tornado sirens have gone off. Without those sirens and people being trained to respond to them quickly, it would have been a lot worse in Parkersburg this weekend.
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posted by [identity profile] missmurchison.livejournal.com at 12:52am on 28/05/2008
I hope your relatives are okay. My mother called me today because she'd just caught it on tv. She knew that wasn't my town but the sight of all those homes reduced, as she said, to "matchsticks," upset her.

If you look at the fatality statistics from tornados you can see them drop drastically after the sirens were introduced. We're very lucky to have them.
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posted by [identity profile] revdorothyl.livejournal.com at 10:11pm on 28/05/2008
Mom forwarded an email update from her sister in Manchester today, revealing that the worst damage in Parkersburg was on the south side, among mostly newer-built homes, while our relatives report only blown-out windows and shingles missing from their older homes -- and fortunately, the oldest son was working on the farm north of town, saw the tornado coming, and called to give his folks a head-start warning, so they had more time to get my mother's cousin and her motorized chair to safety.

Of course, around here, people still go, "What's that?" when the tornado sirens go off (still not used to the idea that tornados DO sometimes hit us).
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posted by [identity profile] texanfan.livejournal.com at 02:37am on 28/05/2008
My prayers are with you and your family as you wait for news.
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posted by [identity profile] revdorothyl.livejournal.com at 10:14pm on 28/05/2008
Thank you! As of today, my mother's oldest sister in Iowa has heard that all of our Parkersburg kin are safe and well, though the stores where they shopped, the offices where one son and his wife worked, and the school the grandkids attended are all gone. Worst they suffered was blown-out windows that have now been covered with plywood, plus gas and electricity are still out (but insurance adjusters have already been around to take care of business).
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posted by [identity profile] texanfan.livejournal.com at 11:42pm on 28/05/2008
Thank Goodness. I imagine the businesses and school will be up and running again before long.
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