Historic

[filkertom]

That's the most popular buzzword describing the incredible, horrific outbreak of tornadoes that has smashed through the American East, especially the Southeast. A hell of a lot of people have died, and a hell of a lot more have had their lives, their towns destroyed.

Anybody who frequents this LJ, who lives in or has been traveling through the danger zones, and especially those of you in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, please sound off so we know you're okay.

Comments

[eftychia]

I'm not in the really scary zone, but we did have a tornado warning last night and a tornado watch today (I'm at Mom's house, not too terribly far from Andrews AFB but hardly next door either). I guess it's better to err on the side of checking in, so her I am.

[filkertom]

Glad you did, and glad you're okay.

[cainle-bean.livejournal.com]

Its definately not good in AL. We are waiting to hear from family just outside of Birmingham and Gadsden. We missed 99% of it here in my part of Oxford. We have a couple of trees down that thankfully fell the best way possible and missed houses and fences and people.

I know its better to stay out of the areas this morning, but I grew up in those areas. Going in a bit to work with the people setting up clothing efforts. And headed into town as soon as I am called to help friends/ family whoever since I have the truck.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Has anyone heard from Marc Gunn yet? I checked his blog and the last entry was on the 25th.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Not yet. I tried his cell, but no answer. I left a message -- if I hear anything, I'll let you know.

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

We just heard from him; he and his family are fine, they don't move to B'Ham for a couple weeks yet.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Phew. Thanks, hon.

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

No problem; we've been fielding phone calls and text messages like mad for the last 12 hours...a berserk Ma Bell hub. I've also been seeing a good chunk of the Southeast fandom checking in online when they can; every "I'm alive!" brightens the day a little more.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Bwaha! Just talked to Marc. They're all still down in NOLA, everyone's fine. He was complaining slightly because they haven't quite got moved to Birmingham yet, until I pointed out that if they had they'd have been right in the middle of the blast zone last night.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

(I can't figure out how to edit posts.)

Thanks for letting us know. I hope his move goes smoothly and that his future home was not damaged.

[jss]

(Assuming you mean "edit comments:" If someone's replied to it, even if the comment's subsequently been deleted, comments are no longer editable. Otherwise, it's as simple as clicking the "Edit comment" button; if you don't see it either you don't have permissions (can free users edit comments? It was at least once a paid-only feature), the comment's been replied-to (see above), or the page style doesn't support it (try adding ?style=light to the URL).)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

And, yes, it still is a paid-only feature.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Since it's a paid-only feature, I'm going to skip it. If I say something I want to take back, I'll either delete and repost or try to learn from the mistake. Thanks for the info.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

FWIW, my husband and I are fine--we had an impressive thunderstorm last night but there doesn't seem to be any damage.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Good. I was really pretty worried about you in particular -- you're right in the damn crosshairs.

No title

[pingback-bot.livejournal.com]

User nagasvoice referenced to your post from No title (http://nagasvoice.livejournal.com/399379.html) saying: [...] for folks he knows to sound off in his blog, here, http://filkertom.livejournal.com/1365674.html [...]

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

My roommate's family (parentals, sister, brother, and their families) all live in the B'Ham area; all are safe, though things did get knocked around more than a little. We were on the phone with her dad, who was on the front porch watching the storm, when suddenly he yelped, "Okay, we're going back in now!"

We're actually going down there this weekend on a long-planned visit.

[smparadox.livejournal.com]

The storm system made it here, but as near as I can tell, the actual tornadoes were unable to make it across the border from Michigan to Windsor, and got held up in Immigration until they dissipated. This may be the only time the security checks at the border have actually done some good!

[saganth.livejournal.com]

Everything's fine here in Chicagoland - just some light rain and the usual winds. I didn't even know about the tornados until just now (no tv reception here, so if I want news I have to go hunting for it). I had no idea there were tornados in Michigan! I am glad you're ok!

[laurel-potter.livejournal.com]

We had one on the west side of the state, near a little town called Dorr, which is SW of Grand Rapids and NW of Kalamazoo. Most of the really bad stuff went south of Grand Rapids. There's an expressway interchange, US 131 and M-6, which is about six miles south of me, that had hail and a possible rotation.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Has Chicagoland ever been hit with tornadoes? I've been here since '99, almost a dozen years now and I don't remember any. I've been lucky that way. Never had to worry about tornadoes they always seem to avoid where I live.

Maybe I'm a good luck charm. :)

[saganth.livejournal.com]

I've been told we can get small ones in this area.

[tealbeen.livejournal.com]

Well, Chicago certainly has been hit by tornadoes multiple times - from the National Weather Service study of significant tornadoes in Chicago -
Some facts about Chicago's Significant Tornadoes

There were 92 significant tornadoes in the 8-county Chicago metro area between 1855 and 2008.
The deadliest tornado occurred on April 21, 1967, during an outbreak of 5 significant tornadoes. A violent F4 tornado formed in Palos Hills in Cook County and traveled through Oak Lawn and the south side of Chicago. 33 people died and 500 people were injured by this 200 yard wide tornado that traveled 16 miles and caused over $50 million in damage.

The most recent significant tornadoes occurred on June 7, 2008 over Will and Cook Counties.

The only F5 tornado to ever strike the Chicago area was on August 28 1990. This tornado formed near Oswego and passed through Plainfield, Crest Hill, and Joliet. The tornado killed 29, injured 350, and caused $165 million in damage along a 16 mile path.

[jmthane.livejournal.com]

Very glad that tarsa and I are no longer living down there. Our friends have checked in, and while some are without power, all are OK.

[purpleranger.livejournal.com]

Plenty of rain in Louisville the past few days, as well as plenty of wind, but nothing worse than that.

[omimouse.livejournal.com]

My family in Huntsville were fine, though without power. Then again, most of Madison county was without power, since they shut down all three reactors at Brown's Ferry. I'm still waiting to see something from an LJ friend in Birmingham, and someone I know through WoW who lives in Madison.

[wingus.livejournal.com]

Northeast Arkansas here, doing fine. Think we got skirted by a twister that hit some towns to the north yesterday.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

Still without power and internet at home here in West Memphis. The flooded bayous are becoming passable again. My workplace got hit, but only lost a bit of roof. We're fine here.

[jovan-scorn.livejournal.com]

I'm ok the storm moved north of is though we did get plenty of sirens. I'm still trying to contact a few in Tuscaloosa. I've got one unconfirmed at this point. His neighborhood was damaged (just outside the main swathe) but his landline rings.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Eeugh. The problem there is that the landline will always ring if there's no functioning equipment hooked up to it. That's why, in the event of (for instance) a power outage, a lot of people call their own houses to see if their answering machines are on.

[jovan-scorn.livejournal.com]

They don't have an answering machine and the cell isn't reaching. Neighborhood damage was reported to me visually by another friend on the scene. In his words, "a lot of downed trees and houses with damage but not flattened like the main path.

If is entirely possible they left the house before the storm hit as one of the people living there, an elderly grandparent, was on oxygen. It's also possible they weathered the storm but left via emergencies vehicles for his care.

As it stands there are only, that I can confirm, 15 dead in Tuscaloosa County so the odds are in his favor.

Report in from Atlanta

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, the worst we got was some wind. The nearest damage I heard about this morning was about 35 miles north of me in a town named Kennesaw. I'm figuring this would apply as well to thatcrazycajun, autographedcat and filkferengi.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Maryville, in East Tennessee, here -- Dale and I are fine, although I haven't been out or watched the news to see how the area is in general.

[saganth.livejournal.com]

Everything's fine here in Chicagoland - just some light rain and the usual winds. I didn't even know about the tornados until just now (no tv reception here, so if I want news I have to go hunting for it). I had no idea there were tornados in Michigan!

[gorgeousgary]

Anyone hear from quadrivium?

I did!

[sweetmusic-27.livejournal.com]

She and Wesley and Simon are fine, though without power.

Re: I did!

[gorgeousgary]

Thanks!

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

Going from south central PA back to the DC FedroSplat this afternoon, the closest possible twister was about 15-20 miles away. Some pretty heavy rain in the morning but that's as bad as it got where we were. Sending all manner of good thoughts to those who were hit harder. Those were some *UGLY* storms.

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

Has anyone heard from or about Margaret, msminlr?

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Hurm. Now that you mention it, no. Isn't she kinda Dallas local? Tim & Russ Miller, Ed Dravecky, you guys out there? sveethot?

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

Her User Info lists Little Rock, Arkansas. (fingers crossed)

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

Had tornadoes touch down a few miles from here, but nothing bad happened to me. I had a coworker lose his home, but everyone is okay.

[caligogreywings.livejournal.com]

I live in Tuscaloosa. I am alive and I have a house, but barely. Houses to either side of me have trees in them, and I don't know how I don't. But the main connection road to my house... it... Tom, it's gone. There are bodies coming out of the projects just up the road from me in 3 different areas, and half my town is gone. I heard it over me, and I didn't think I was going to have a house to climb back up to.

One of my husband's aunts has no house, and her husband is alive despite being caught in it. A family of very close friends lives behind me a bit, and they have trees in their house. We all had to walk through the rubble to get picked up, and I just... still cannot believe it.

There are students missing and dead, they are closing the University and telling them to go home. There are bodies... just filling our morgues. We are devastated.

This is nothing on the scale of Japan, but my town is half gone, and we are still searching for people. So if anyone can donate to the red cross, please please please. There are so many people without homes, without family, without power or water or gas, and we don't have places to put them.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Oh man. Oh man.

First, so, so glad you're alive. So glad your family is still alive.

Keep it together, you and your friends lean on each other. The disaster teams are already at work, and they can help you start sorting things out and seeing what you've lost and more importantly what you've got. The insurance people can help you prepare to rebuild, or relocate, or whatever needs to be done.

Your online friends are here. Talk to us if you need to. We're here.

[caligogreywings.livejournal.com]

We had a crew helping get the tree off the house. We drove my father in law's hot dog cart down to Fire Station No. 2 and fed the firemen, then we went to Leland Center down near my house, and in one of the worst hit areas, and added our services to the very large block party there-- the manager of Save-a-lot opened his doors and is handing things out.

I went through a couple of the worst areas today, and they are terrible. Terrible, terrible.

Sounding off

[healingcat.livejournal.com]

I just got power back yesterday but other than the food in the fridge going bad I had no damage from the storms. Work calmed down enough today for me to check in. Thanks for asking about those of us in storm ravaged areas.