It's been nearly a week since the storm hit, and for the first time, I was able to drive through my own town to see the damage because the road access just opened up. It was heart breaking. I didn't sleep Saturday night after I saw it. I kept thinking, as I viewed what must be 150 to 200 homes down to the first level or to the ground, that no one in town was killed - only the trailers in Evansville - but they could have been.
That's grandma thinking. It's not what happened but what could have if - ask any grandmother, and they'll tell you. It's not the couch they're jumping on, it's that fall if it goes wrong that could leave a child in a wheelchair for life. It's not slide, but what if he fell, what if he did choke on that or what if, what if, what if. I suppose it has something to do with loving life so much and not wanting all the pain that comes with negligence. It's the force behind not wanting your loved ones, or anyone to suffer needlessly because some silly whim - like speed in a car, or failure to buckle up.
No one thinks it will happen to them, and I'm sure the people of Newburgh thought it would eventually come, but not THROUGH the town, just on the edge, just other people's houses, but interestingly enough, the sirens caused all those people to take real cover and no one was killed in the town.
So what DO you do in a tornado? You take cover. But what does that mean? By the look of the houses destroyed, the only safe place was in a basement or inside room. What still stands are the hearts of homes - the centers.
Some people remember the Petersburgh storms back in the late 80's. That beautiful town was demolished and 8 people died. They never did rebuild - they couldn't. The older, larger homes were gone, and today most of the rebuilds are trailers and one story prefabs.
At that time, we were putting an addition onto our older home, a fairly large playroom - 800 square feet, and we decided to put in a basement because of those storms. We dug a small 10X10 basement under the new room. Unfortunately, we are so close to the river, we struck a natural spring that feeds the basement nicely. The sump pump pumps out the water all the way across the property to the road where it deposits the water in the gutter about eleven months out of the year. The birds love it. When the power is out, the basement fills with water. Consequently, it's unusable especially in a storm. Nice try, but no prize. So the big question stands, death by tree or death by drowning in the basement?
The bigger question for everyone is where would you go in case of this kind of 200 mile an hour winded storm? I talked to a friend who lost his home in the storm, and he said he had a partially underground room. It was center of the house, and he had always planned if there were a storm, that's where his family would go. It's good to plan because what if?
It's also good to have a gym bag ready to take to shelter. Have a flash light and two packs of new batteries. Have some bandages - a box of band aids and old fashioned Kotex works wonders. Put in an ace bandage. Have some pain relief, and don't forget prescription meds. You can grab those on the way to safety if you don't have to grab the rest of the bag contents.
Pack a new stuffed animal or two for the kids, and some high energy cookies or bars everyone likes. Have some water or bottled juice, Dixie cups, and a blanket and a change of clothes for everyone, and toilet paper - you can never have enough toilet paper. One bag like that can mean the world in a war zone like Newburgh. If the bag is big enough and can be stored in the place of safety, put a few extras in for the neighbors who might not have gotten around to making their own kits.
Kits will be different among people including religious items, and pictures, etc. Some people will be storing their photo albums in the center rooms now.
My neighbor is Miss Vivie. She's the state entomologist and very sensitive about things. I would have to put in a box of tissues for her.
Planning is part of good family care. Next time you plan a meal, think about disaster and what you would do if...
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