BB HURRICANE SURVIVORS: Please Check in and let us know you are ok.

[TaterTot]

Would you be willing to share some of your thoughts during that time?

I would love to, I just didnt want to bore people with the details, lol.

We are about 70 miles inland, and we really didnt think it wold be as powerful as it was. We woke up on Sunday morning to news that it was a category 5, and by that time, it was too late to leave without risking being stuck in a car on the interstate. If we lived on the coast, we'd have been outta there way early on. We have been through many hurricanes, and they are usually just a bunch of bad weather and wind. We had planned on staying in our home and getting in the hallway if it got bad. Several church people came to our church across the street, and so my husband thought we should stay there with them, since he is their pastor. So we snagged a Sunday school and made a large pallet. We took enough food over there for a few days, and some games and flashlights as well. Since there is a second floor in the building we were in, we felt secure if a tornado were to take the roof.
The munchkins did great, they were a little afraid, but they played in the nursery with some other kids most of the day. (The storm lasted 12 hours)
Everybody kinda did their own thing throughout the day, dealing with it in their own ways. (I tihnk there were about 8 adults and 7 kids) I read my Bible a good bit and found me a piano to play. Also ran back and forth to windows watching. It was really awesome to see that kind of power in nature. How could anyone say there's no God?? One guy kept us some hot coffee on his propane burner. It was a little scary at times to hear the tornados overhead and not know where they were going. We saw one take the carport that shared a wall with the room that we were in. We watched out the window to see trees fall on our house. (We were SO glad we werent in it!)
After it was over, there were trees down everywhere and the men who had brought their chain saws started trying to cut a way out. They couldnt get anyone home that first night, so we all spent the night again at the church in the dark. We played dominoes by candlelight, and I went and got all my meat outta the freezer at home and we cooked it on a grill. Had a great feast. The next day everyone made it home after our guys spent all day cutting trees just so cars could go through. It was a mess and just that took all day.
The next 2 weeks were really a mess. No water and power, and we stunk, really bad. And boy was it hot, but our bodies actually acclimated to the heat and it wasnt so bad after a while. TO keep my sanity, I wrote in my journal and prayed a lot and read my Bible. COuldnt really go anywhere, b/c we had no way of getting more gas, no medical care and looters were a huge problem. We slept with guns beside us.
I could write and write, so let me know if there is something else you want to know. I dont want to get too wordy, lol.
I have to say, tho, that the military was great. At one of the water distribution centers, there was a WMU group (SBC) giving out treats for kids, and I could not believe that my children were recipients of WMU teddy bears. We are so used to being on the other side of ministry, it was hard to swallow, on many occasions. I was so proud to be a member of the SBC, though. Maybe in a nother post i can tell you all I saw them (us) do. Not that others didnt, they were just the most visible. It was beautiful to see the body of Christ at work.

 

[blackbird]

If you want to see footage of Katrina's aftermath---go to

www.mbcb.org

click on the Katrina Icon and follow instructions. I traveled down 2 weeks after Katrina to near where TaterTot was during the storm---Picayune, MS

Picture giant trees in the median of the interstate----those trees "snapped off" like you'd snap a pencil in two---terrific tornadic activity. Where I am in southcentral Mississippi--south of Jackson---we got 115 mph wind---trees uprooted and downed power lines---a few trees fell into houses---but not much of that reported. Heavy roofing shingle damage. But down south near and on the coast---is where the storm surge hit---a "souped up" sunomi---we saw pictures of FBC, Gulfport and FBC, Long Beach, MS today at the Mississippi Baptist Convention meeting----nothing left there in those two buildings except the steel structures---everything else---pews, pianos, organs, chairs, pulpits, along with all---all---all building materials--were washed away to sea when the surge went back out!!! Horrible!!

I have been through Hurricanes---the worst two have been Andrew and Katrina----I thank the Lord Jesus I'm not any closer to the coast than I am now---but still where I am at with 115 mph winds---it was still spooky!!!

 

[Elnora]

I thank you for bravely sharing your stories. They are very touching and I am grateful that y'all are safe. Thank the Lord!

 

[Thankful]

It is difficult to imagine a storm lasting 12 hours. Our tornadoes may last that long, but a move across the county and don't stay in one place very long.

Thank you for sharing these stories, Tater and Blackbird. You make it more real than the news people.

 

[blackbird]

The storm started getting "bad" around 8:30am. By about 9:45am it was unsafe to go outside. By noon---the only ones out of doors were "idiots." If you did go outside---the wind would literally knock you down to the ground!!

By 2pm----we had to stay away from windows for fear the wind would burst them. We also moved to the northern most side of our house---for fear that one of the oak trees would soon be uprooted to the south!

At 4pm---it was still unsafe to go out!

By 6pm---it was dark---but the wind had subsided to only gale force---50-60 mph Safe enough to go outside---but why bother---because you couldn't see anything anyway!!

It was literally unsafe to be outside for at least 8 hours that day!!!