Tornados tear through Sumter, Marion, Lake, and Volusia Counties
Yesterday morning around 3:00 a.m. tornados touched down very close to home. I had taken the girls over to my mom's house after the movie in the Park Thursday night. Since Peter is still in Chicago I didn't really want to go home to a big empty bed. My mom and I had planned our short car trip and so we decided it would be easier if I just stayed at her house that night. When I woke up yesterday morning I was devastated to find the tornados destruction was covering the news. I called Peter immediately to tell him what happened and he tried to call one of our neighbors to see how Orange City weathered. My heart sank when I heard that Southern Deland was hit hard (borders N. Orange City, which is only 5 square miles) and that tracker trailers flipped off Interstate 4 right next to our exit. I saw the banners at the bottom of the News coverage giving emergency numbers for the Orange City area and telling of rescue teams going door to door. I couldn't imagine the damage that could be awaiting me at home but I thanked God right then that we were all safe at my mom's house for the night and prayed for all those who had lost everything including loved ones. The news footage showed so many destroyed homes and streets and told of houses that had already been condemned just hours after the storms. Finally Peter called back and said he spoke with our neighbor around the corner and was told that our house was fine and that our neighborhood hadn't been touched. Again I thanked God. My mom and I took our trip and I came home to our house last night. Everything seemed normal but once I saw the news again I couldn't believe how close we were to the destruction. As best as I can tell we are about a mile or so away from the damage. I thank God for sparing our home and also for having me be at my mom's house at the time of the storm. I can't imagine how scared I would have been hearing of the tornado warnings and being all alone with the girls to worry about.
I made this map as accurate as I could given the information I could find online. The Yellow counties are those that were hit the hardest from the storms. The Red line is the path of the storms that came from the Gulf and moved East. The Blue arrows are where tornados touched down, though there are more speculated areas. The Green is Orange City where we live. You can click on the image for a much larger view.I want to thank all of our friends and family who called and sent emails hoping we were alright and asking how we managed. It is good to know that had we had damage we would have people to lean on. I even received a few emails from some of my caching friends who knew we lived in this area. So nice to have people who care about us so close. Thanks again to everyone (even if you did wake me up at 8 in the morning, you know who you are:)).
posted by We are the Taylors @ 2:28 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
LOL I'm soooo sooo sorry, but even though you sounded so tired I was so thankful just to hear your voice and to know that you all were OK!
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