Renzatic on 30/4/2011 at 01:58

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...when the weather decided to try and kill me dead. Yup. I'm one of the many unfortunate people in the south who got to see their hometown torn to shreds by the many tornadoes that came through the area.

Fortunately for me, my neighborhood was somehow spared the worst the storm had to offer. I have no idea how, I'm situated right in the center of town, surrounded by destruction, but all I had to contend with was roughly one ton of very large tree getting chucked through my garage and breezeway like a spear.

Everyone else in town, unfortunately, didn't fare so well. I could describe it in detail, but I think these pictures I took can show far better the extent of the destruction my little town suffered. Basically, my little town no longer exists. At least not as it did before 8:20PM, April 27th.

(http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1918449397567.109724.1131964915) Ringgold, Georgia. Morning of April 28th, 2011

If there is one thing that I'll most remember about being through a tornado, it wouldn't be feeling the house shake, watching the windows bulge in. It wouldn't hearing that sound that, well, it isn't dissimilar to a freight train, though I wouldn't describe it exactly as such. No, it'd be how quickly it began, and how suddenly it ended. By the time I saw the windows and glass door out to the breezeway start shaking in their frames, to the point where I went outside after hearing the neighbors shouting outside, maybe 5 minutes had passed. It was quick. I didn't even expect the damage to town to be as extensive as it was until a friend of mine and I decided to check everything out around 11PM. By the time we saw the worst, we were wondering around slackjawed and awestruck like all the other hundreds of people on the street.

Anyway, I'm staying at a friends house, and borrowing his internet here, so I can't elaborate as much as I'd like. I'll post again once the power and internet gets restored to the house. Should be this weekend sometime.

Renzatic on 30/4/2011 at 03:35

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Yeah. Tuscoloosa, Trenton, Tiftonia (basically northwest Chattanooga), Apison, and my town. All about wiped off the face of the earth by a storm that produced almost 20 EF-4 tornadoes. We rarely ever get tornadoes of that strength around here. The worst I can remember in recent history just did moderate damage to 3 houses and uproot some trees. That was 10 years ago. Every tornado since usually blows off a roof or two at worst.

And then we get this. At least the fatality count has been almost miraculously low. Specially considering where these tornadoes have hit.

And apparently we were lucky enough to have two brave and/or suicidally insane people tape the tornado that hit Ringgold from opposite ends of town. It's a bit frightening seeing how gigantic it was. All I saw during was alot of dark and the occasional flashing light. The only clue I had to its actual size was the strip of uprooted trees it left along its trip up the ridge.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOkKAG_obNs&feature=related) Filmed about a mile north on I-75

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZSCo4PW0yk&feature=youtu.be) Man sees tornado. Gets real religious

theBlackman on 30/4/2011 at 05:06

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Glad to hear you are OK. Regret the devastation and loss of life. But as the saying goes, "You can't Fuck with Mother Nature".

She'll get you every time.

Lucky Hand of Glory on 30/4/2011 at 06:32

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jebus christ!:wot:

Sg3 on 30/4/2011 at 08:24

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My sister and her husband got hit, or rather their city did. They're unhurt but they won't have power for nearly a week.