• More than 300 homes destroyed, damaged by tornado, in my home town.
    28 replies, posted
[quote]Saturday's tornadoes destroyed 167 homes in Cumberland County and damaged 144 more, according to a preliminary estimate released this afternoon. The estimate also shows 52 vehicles were damaged, according to the Cumberland County-City of Fayetteville Joint Emergency Operations Center. Of the damaged homes, 78 were described as major damage, while 66 were minor. The numbers are preliminary, based on an initial assessment conducted by authorities today. Thousands remain without power across the Cape Fear region, including nearly 11,000 in Cumberland County. A curfew resumes tonight at 9 p.m. in damaged neighborhoods of Fayetteville. And Cumberland County school officials announced that Ben Martin Elementary School will be closed the rest of the year because of structural damage. All schools will be on a two-hour delay Monday. Pine Forest High School, which sustained damage, will be closed Monday. Gov. Bev Perdue toured Fayetteville's devastated neighborhoods earlier in the day with local officials, as hundreds of residents, businesses and volunteers began the long process of cleaning up. Perdue arrived at the Ultimate Storage Co. off Reilly Road around 12:45 p.m. and received an update from Police Chief Tom Bergamine, Fire Chief Benny Nichols, Mayor Tony Chavonne and Emergency Management Director Kenny Currie. "I've never seen anything like this in my life,'' Perdue said. "There is a tremendous amount of property damage and damage to people's lives. The hardest is for the people whose lives have been devastated.'' Perdue said President Obama and the first lady have been in touch and expressed their concerns. Perdue declared a state of emergency Saturday night, which is one of the first steps toward getting federal assistance to affected areas. Six to eight workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived overnight, and more are expected, Perdue said. She said officials hope to have a better idea of preliminary damage by 6 p.m. today. Perdue also visited damaged areas in Lee, Harnett and Bladen counties. Law enforcement and local officials provided an update on the tornado, which left one person dead and at least 85 injured when it ripped through Fayetteville. Three others were killed in Bladen County and one in Dunn. Thousands across North Carolina remain without power this afternoon. Progress Energy said at 4 p.m. that it still had 8,600 outages in Sampson County, 4,800 in Cumberland County, 1,600 in Lee County, 900 in Robeson County and 900 in Harnett County. Officials said it will be a long recovery. City and county building inspectors and staff from the county Tax Department are doing assessments. So far there are no dollar estimates for damage. Inspectors are identifying and marking structures in imminent danger. Search and rescue teams were going door to door. Two of the three emergency shelters that opened Saturday in Cumberland County were closed this morning. The shelter at Westover Recreation Center remains open. Eighty-six people used the shelters Saturday night, said Currie, the Emergency Management director. In Cumberland County, the damage spanned about eight to 10 miles, from North Reilly Road to north Ramsey Street. In some places, entire neighborhoods were wiped out. The city and Cumberland County were declared states of emergency. The city is running two FAST buses from the Westover Recreation Center to the Food Lion parking lot at Morganton and Reilly Roads. Residents only will be allowed on the buses. Residents will be allowed to access the LaGrange subdivision on foot. Those who are able to retrieve their personal vehicle will be allowed to exit LaGrange on Ingleside and Brockton drives only. Access to affected areas will be controlled until further notice. Andrews Road is open to vehicular traffic. Residential areas are restricted to foot traffic. Yadkin Road is closed from Santa Fe Drive to the Fort Bragg gate. Reilly Road is closed from Morganton Road to the Fort Bragg gate, county officials said. There were reports early Saturday evening of people walking the streets in the damaged areas and possibly trying to break into homes, but it did not become an issue, said Lt. Chris Davis. Police were in the area overnight, he said. Officials said they are only aware of the one death in Cumberland County, which was off Vault Field Road in Linden. The victim's name and details of what happened were withheld. "We hope the people of Cumberland County will pull together as they've always done,'' said Kenneth Edge, chairman of the county Board of Commissioners. "I expect nothing less for the same thing to happen now.'' Joyce Milanese with the Highlands Chapter of the American Red Cross said families who want to know about their loved ones should register at the organization's website, redcross.org. There is a Safe and Well program link that families can search to find out about people in the area. Residents who want to assist in the clean-up effort are asked to stay out of the affected areas and to coordinate with the Red Cross. Call 867-8151, ext. 29 or go to the Highlands Chapter at 807 Carol St. Officials said city and county services will be impacted as work crews assist in damage assessment and road clearing. Residents should check on the city's website for more information as it becomes available.[/quote] [url]http://fayobserver.com/articles/2011/04/17/1087410?sac=Home[/url] The first tornado touched down near my girlfriend's house, leaving her neighborhood untouched, but demolishing a lot of the surrounding areas, including a couple schools. Both me and her are incredibly lucky to be alive, but while her and I were having fun, lives were being ruined, people were dying, futures... being destoyed.... :smithicide: [editline]18th April 2011[/editline] [url]http://photos.fayobserver.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1228182&CategoryID=1329&ListSubAlbums=0[/url] [editline]18th April 2011[/editline] ^Some pictures.
Did your house get damaged? That really sucks
man that sucks. good to hear that your family is ok
My old house got hit by this storm. I moved out a couple months ago though.
[QUOTE=mokkan;29259952]Did your house get damaged? That really sucks[/QUOTE] No, but my power was out for a day, and the battery died in my phone (fucking apple :argh:)... couldn't talk to my girlfriend who was literally *just* outside of the main tornado's path, so i naturally was freaking the fuck out. [editline]18th April 2011[/editline] Tornado's started hitting ground right after i left her house.
Heard about this on the news recently. They said 11 people are confirmed dead. :smith:
nc bros the storm was headed straight for my house, and i was about to hole up in my bathroom (no windows + center of house) but with 10 minutes to go on the tornado warning, it suddenly got sunny for some reason
[QUOTE]Both me and her are incredibly lucky to be alive, but while her and I were having fun, lives were being ruined, people were dying, futures... being destoyed.... :smithicide:[/QUOTE] Over dramatic much?
My friend moved down to NC a few years back... I hope he and his family are all right. :ohdear:
[QUOTE=killover;29260065]Over dramatic much?[/QUOTE] Not even close. You don't know true fear until it hits you with a mallet. Also, forever alone in SC.
[QUOTE=Mikesword221;29260095]Not even close. You don't know true fear until it hits you with a mallet. Also, forever alone in SC.[/QUOTE] He tried to make it all cool and stuff by making it sound super dramatic and sad n shit
[QUOTE=killover;29260134]He tried to make it all cool and stuff by making it sound super dramatic and sad n shit[/QUOTE] No i didn't because it was actually happening. Me and my girl, were totally oblivious to the pain, and torment, that was happening not even 5 minutes from where we were having fun. His avatar explains everything.
I was asleep through the entire storm. It was quite a surprise to wake up and find my trampoline missing. The storm wasn't too close to me but the wind was strong enough to steal my damn trampoline.
Took out a big chunk of my town. If you've seen the pictures of the huge rubble from the old Lowes Home Improvement, that's my town. Also took down a walmart-sized Tractor Supply and a ton of houses. My english teacher's house is just completely gone. It's surreal.
How many people here live in NC for crying out loud? [editline]17th April 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Canesfan;29260402]Took out a big chunk of my town. If you've seen the pictures of the huge rubble from the old Lowes Home Improvement, that's my town. Also took down a walmart-sized Tractor Supply and a ton of houses. My english teacher's house is just completely gone. It's surreal.[/QUOTE] You lived near that Lowes? That place looked wrecked. I found it odd how all the isles were still standing though.
In my neck of the woods in Wilmington, all we got were dark, ominous clouds, a few minutes of sheets of rain and wind, then gone. So anti climatic, but good riddance.
[QUOTE=Mikesword221;29260453]How many people here live in NC for crying out loud? [editline]17th April 2011[/editline] You lived near that Lowes? That place looked wrecked. I found it odd how all the isles were still standing though.[/QUOTE] I was in that Lowes on Friday. It is completely demolished. Friend of mine's dad's business was hit hard too. There were 18-wheelers just tossed around, some into water. Still hard to believe.
5.1 million homes were lost in japan
[QUOTE=Gaza Pen Pal;29260645]5.1 million homes were lost in japan[/QUOTE] Yes we all know that and are working on that. But that doesn't me we should say "fuck these people Japan got hit a lot worse" and leave them.
[QUOTE=Gaza Pen Pal;29260645]5.1 million homes were lost in japan[/QUOTE] That's great and all... but that was news 2 weeks ago. Not to be a dick, I care and have donated 100 dollars to japan. [editline]18th April 2011[/editline] And i about lost someone close to me. Did you lose someone close to you in the Japanese Tsunami?
[QUOTE=MightyMax;29260759]And i about lost someone close to me. Did you lose someone close to you in the Japanese Tsunami?[/QUOTE] Forgive me if I missed it, but who did you lose?
[QUOTE=Psychokitten;29261002]Forgive me if I missed it, but who did you lose?[/QUOTE] [I]about[/I] lost. I didn't lose anyone.
[QUOTE=MightyMax;29260759]That's great and all... but that was news 2 weeks ago. Not to be a dick, I care and have donated 100 dollars to japan. [editline]18th April 2011[/editline] And i about lost someone close to me. Did you lose someone close to you in the Japanese Tsunami?[/QUOTE] Yeah I lost my dog Laika
I live near there. Shit sucks, I was watching as it happened, I saw bunches of shingles and insulation flying over my house into the street.
I'm blown away at how powerful mother nature can be.
Such is life in Tornado alley. Trust me people, it kinda sucks to live here in Tornado Alley, every few days there's a damn twister and it threatens friends and family here.
[QUOTE=zombini;29262348]Such is life in Tornado alley. Trust me people, it kinda sucks to live here in Tornado Alley, every few days there's a damn twister and it threatens friends and family here.[/QUOTE] Well half of the situation here is that NC isn't anywhere near tornado alley. NC gets on average, I think, like 19 tornadoes per year. I seem to recall reading somewhere we got that many if not more in the space of a few hours saturday.
That blows. [editline]18th April 2011[/editline] pun actually not intended
"In my home town" isnt really descriptive unless we know you personally.
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