Back in February 2008, my family and I were living in Tennessee. We had only been back for a couple of months and were for the most part adjusting to living in the country again (a small readjustment for myself, as I have always loved living in the country). I was a senior in highschool, scheduled to graduate that May (and I still can't quite believe that was a decade ago), working at the nursing home, thinking about how those were my last days of being seventeen, and enjoying being with all of my friends whom I had loved and missed.
Most of us remember that February ten years ago for an entirely different reason than anything that I just listed, including myself. You see, back then something happened that would go on to be referred to as the "2008 Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak." Essentially it was a total of eighty-seven tornadoes occurring between the afternoon of February 5th and the early morning of February 6th throughout four states and eighteen counties. Among the damage there were fifty-seven people killed, hundreds injured, and countless lives changed forever.
I remember it like it was yesterday. We all knew there was a bad storm coming, and were doing the usual to prepare ourselves, but didn't think too much of it at first, because we had lived in "Tornado Alley" for the better part of our lives. But, that night changed it.... at the time, the outbreak was the deadliest in the era of modern NEXRAD doppler radar (which came into effect in 1997). And no matter how much everyone thought they were prepared, the truth was, none of us were prepared for any of it in the least little bit.
For over fifteen hours everyone just had to try to tell themselves that if they got through that part, then everything would be ok. The truth was, no one had any clue if everything would be ok or if we would even pull through it. You never really understand the resilience of people until you're standing there with them and neither of you knows what to do, but you just do something.
The beginning of this catastrophic storm started in Arkansas, and once it started it didn't stop. One of the first signs that we knew something major was happening was when a major fire was started, because a natural gas plant was in the path of the tornado and was ripped apart. Luckily, they had evacuated that area and no one was injured inside of the plant.... but you could see those colors against the sky just as clear as day. I'll never forget it. We lived in an apartment at the time (and our apartment was in a holler) and once we heard the giant "BOOM" we all ran outside to figure out what was going on. What was going on was the natural gas plant had been ripped apart and exploded and against the coal black sky all you could see was the prettiest red/pink/orange colors. I know it sounds ridiculous to call it pretty, but it truly was.
It sounds a little dramatic to say that the tornado "leveled half of our county" but it's not being dramatic, it's the truth. There were over one hundred seventy homes completely destroyed, thirteen people lost their lives, and there were almost fifty more seriously injured. Our county felt the effects of that night for years, and at times, still do. Over a million dollars worth of the trees were destroyed, putting a severe hurting on our logging industry that are comprised of mostly family owned businesses that have been operational for generations.
President George W. Bush actually came into our county a couple of days later (on February 8th) to take in the damage for himself and promised that aid was on its way, even though we were doing our best to help each other.
Pieces of our county (debris) were found as far as seventy miles away from where they had been before the storm. We had lost all power and had to pull together to stay warm, eat, and make sure that people got the medical attention that they required. Alot of people didn't have power for a week and they closed our schools for a couple of weeks. They estimated that there was upwards of seventy-eight million dollars worth of damage in our tiny county alone.
Many of my friends were/are on the rescue/fire squad and we all came together and tried to do our part the best we could. Personally, I went with three friends of mine and we delivered generators and cases of water to churches and various buildings that had been converted into makeshift shelters for hours upon hours. It was so cold and everyone tried to collect as many blankets and clothes as we possibly could for everyone. Some of the people that were injured even had to do physically therapy at the nursing home where I worked. Strangers helped one another, people were pulled from rubble, you let others in to share your heat, and food was more like a community gathering for awhile. It's an incredibly sad thing to see, but to know how some people can come together in the face of tragedy is amazing and truly shows you that no matter what, there are decent, good, hardworking people out there willing to lend a hand and help others.
It's been ten years, and sometimes it still feels like it was yesterday.
I don't think I'll ever forget that night. I don't think any of us ever will.
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