West Little Rock residents suddenly found themselves in the direct path of a violent EF 3 tornado on Friday. The storm, of tremendous size and intensity, ravaged the Arkansas city and rapidly moved on to not only the surrounding northeastern states, but as far as the state of Delaware. Dozens, if not hundreds of homes in Little Rock were either heavily damaged or completely destroyed. The storm hit many homes in the literal sense, and figuratively, it hit home as well. My parents, who have lived in their home for over 40 years, were in the direct line of the tornado and their home was heavily damaged. By the grace of God, they both survived. And for me, the events of the past 48 hours have hit home with me. Hitting close to home; we should always be thankful for the good things in life that we have, and for all of the loved ones in our lives. We can never take them for granted. And Friday’s storms hit home.
As I drove into the area on Sunday, I made a turn on to their street that I have made a million times. But this time, when I made the turn, the sight I saw took my breath away. I could not believe what I was seeing. You have heard many victims refer to the damage as resembling a war zone, and that image is exactly what came to mind. It is hard to image how this beautiful neighborhood can look the way it does now.
But, one reason I decided to write this story is because of the inspiration I received from the residents who had been displaced from their homes. The entire area was up early, fighting through the shock and disbeleif, and moving on with their lives. The sounds of chainsaws filled the air. Contractors moved quickly to board houses and to tarp rooves. An army of trucks and crews from various electric power companies filled the area. And in the middle of the day, as we worked to slavage items from inside the house, a couple who lives a few doors up the street, came to the house and asked if there was anything they could do to help. Their house had sustained severe damage too, but they took time to go down the street to look after my parents.
The attitudes of the residents in the affected areas seemed to be one of acceptance….shock…but acceptance. And they immediately went to work to clean up their properties. Sure, everyone was upset, but no one seemed to be looking for sympathy. Their attitude was one of, “That’s life…it happended, now let’s go to work and get it cleaned up.”
The strength and the support that everyone has for each other is truly inspiring. In a time of crisis, people rise to the occasion.
The stories are both amazing and tragic. From the perspective of my parents’ home, it is truly amazing that both the home and they survived. Just before the impact, they huddled together in the interior hallway of their home with cushions over their heads. They said afterwards that they could hear trees exploding, hitting the ground with a resounding thud, and glass breaking. It was a fast-moving storm, and they estimate that they went through the worst of the storm for 10-15 seconds. And when they emerged from their home after the storm had passed, what they saw was devastating.
Adding insult to injury, once the cyclone portion of the tornado passed, the area was doused by torrential rain. Water flowed into the houses that were now exposed with gaping holes in their rooves, or, where there were no rooves at all. My stepbrother who lives in Little Rock, immediately came to their aid, having to park a ways down the street from their house, and climb over fallen tree limbs and branches that lined the street to come to their assistance.
Two doors down, a Texas family that had just purchased their new home and had moved, saw their new home totally destroyed, minutes after their moving van had left. Heartbreaking.
Wood and other debris were impaled into homes, trees, and other structures. The outside gas meter for my parents’ home was completely blown away, leaving only an open, exposed, above-ground pipe that was venting dangerous gas into the entire area. Lawn furniture is just gone; who knows how many miles away it landed. Fences, power poles…anything above ground, was just simply blown away.
So, in the middle of trying to stay focused on what things needed to be done first, I could not help myself from reflecting on the history of my parents’ home. I remember when they purchased it and how proud they were. I remember how much pride they have always taken in maintaining it and in always having a magnificent lawn.
But most significantly, I remember the home being the host of so many wonderful family memories. The family members themselves, both in the past, and in the present that have been in the house celebrating many occasions… the Christmas gatherings for the “traditional non-traditional” Christmas fish fry…and all of the wonderful memories that flooded my emotions. And to see the house and the neighborhood now…it is just overwhelming to process.
The storm hit home for me; and for the residents of West Little Rock, it him home for them, as well. But the good people of West Little Rock are strong and will rebuild both their homes and their lives. For me, I am truly thankful God protected my family. They are going to be OK. It will be difficult and inconvenient, but they will be OK.
And when you go to bed tonight, please ask God to make all of the affected residents OK, as well. They have a long road to go to recover from this violent tornado that hit home for them, too.
