I knew that I couldn't remember a more horrible tornado outbreak in Alabama, but it has now been determined that the tornadoes of April 27, 2011 were the worst outbreak in the USA since 1925! We are very thankful that the death toll number has been going down, not up, as they are better able to document individual deaths.
But there are so many who have lost everything they had. Whole towns are just gone, wiped off the face of the earth, to the point that you can see the swath of the tornado paths from satellite images! The biggest one that went through Alabama was well over a mile wide and stayed on the ground for over 80 miles, with winds in excess of 200 miles per hour.
Since we're Baptist, here's the link to donate to help the tornado survivors through the Alabama Baptist State Mission Board. The Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and United Way would be good places to take local donations of goods or send money, as there will be a need for LOTS of money.
You can also MAIL a box of toys or baby clothes in good clean condition.
Our Free Plush Memories Lost Toy Search Service is available to any family member or friend of a tornado-stricken family. We will give Top Priority to searches for the special stuffed animal, doll, or blankie that a child has lost.
ALL orders shipped to Alabama from our Dirty Butter Plush Animal Shoppe will receive a 50% Discount through June 30th, in the hopes that this will help out of state family members to send toys to loved ones struck by the tornado. And anyone who has a lovie shipped to Alabama who did not suffer directly from the damage will be encouraged to donate the other half to disaster relief.
PLEASE find a way that YOU can HELP!
Showing posts with label Alabama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alabama. Show all posts
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Worst Tornado Day I Can Remember!
I'm praying today that many missing people in the aftermath of yesterday's tornado events in the US will be found alive today as daylight makes searching possible. We live in Alabama, and we spent all day listening carefully to all the weather news and went to our "safe place" in the basement for several hours yesterday evening. We had 3 wind events pass over us yesterday. The early morning one may have been a straight line event, but 2 tornadoes passed close to us last night. We were extremely fortunate, but we know people who lost everything. At least they are alive.
One of the hardest hit by the mile wide tornado that went across 3 states was Tuscaloosa, but it apparently did not hit the University of Alabama with any significant damage. The hospital in Tuscaloosa is working on emergency generators, and they are moving patients to other hospitals as soon as they can. Cullman was hit by 4 tornadoes yesterday! And the north side of the biggest city in the state, Birmingham, was also damaged badly. Areas south of Birmingham were also hit by the first wave of high wind events early yesterday morning. There have already been 131 confirmed deaths in the state, and I'm sure the number will go up. Over a million people in Alabama are without power today.
Our Huntsville daughter and her family are OK, except for not having power. One of our news reports said some transmission lines from the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant were hit, so it may be several days before they get their power back. We heard from them this morning, and they are grilling the food from the freezer. They'll be camping out for awhile it looks like. They are in the process of shutting down the nuclear plant, too, just as a safety precaution, so that will delay power to many as well.
We do know of one person raised in our church who lives in Pleasant Grove whose house doesn't have two sticks standing. All her family is safe. Praise God!
I do have many memories of terrible tornado events in all the years I've lived in Alabama, so maybe it's my age showing, but I don't think I've ever been as worried about tornado warnings as I was yesterday. You could just hear the urgency in the voice of the weather men - NOT the usual hype. So, we spent the day getting our basement place ready for us to spend the night, if necessary.
We have been so blessed, but I'm grieving for all those who have lost family members and hurting for those who cannot find their loved ones. I pray they feel the peace that only God can give in times like this.
One of the hardest hit by the mile wide tornado that went across 3 states was Tuscaloosa, but it apparently did not hit the University of Alabama with any significant damage. The hospital in Tuscaloosa is working on emergency generators, and they are moving patients to other hospitals as soon as they can. Cullman was hit by 4 tornadoes yesterday! And the north side of the biggest city in the state, Birmingham, was also damaged badly. Areas south of Birmingham were also hit by the first wave of high wind events early yesterday morning. There have already been 131 confirmed deaths in the state, and I'm sure the number will go up. Over a million people in Alabama are without power today.
Our Huntsville daughter and her family are OK, except for not having power. One of our news reports said some transmission lines from the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant were hit, so it may be several days before they get their power back. We heard from them this morning, and they are grilling the food from the freezer. They'll be camping out for awhile it looks like. They are in the process of shutting down the nuclear plant, too, just as a safety precaution, so that will delay power to many as well.
We do know of one person raised in our church who lives in Pleasant Grove whose house doesn't have two sticks standing. All her family is safe. Praise God!
I do have many memories of terrible tornado events in all the years I've lived in Alabama, so maybe it's my age showing, but I don't think I've ever been as worried about tornado warnings as I was yesterday. You could just hear the urgency in the voice of the weather men - NOT the usual hype. So, we spent the day getting our basement place ready for us to spend the night, if necessary.
We have been so blessed, but I'm grieving for all those who have lost family members and hurting for those who cannot find their loved ones. I pray they feel the peace that only God can give in times like this.
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