Most of you have probably heard the news by now of the tornado that devastated the South, which originally touched down in Warren County, Mississippi. It left ten dead in Yazoo City, Haley Barbour's hometown, and destroyed homes and businesses in 17 counties. Nearly 11,000 people are without power until tomorrow, where a complete damage estimate is expected.
I got assigned to Eagle Lake in Warren County yesterday to report on the damage and talk to victims who had suffered through the storm. I was shocked both as a reporter and as a human being by the destruction I saw.
Pictures and more below the fold.
This was the first thing I saw when I pulled onto Sea Island Drive, which is just off the coast of Eagle Lake.
The tornadoes hit Saturday afternoon, and folks in that little community told me one minute, everything was fine. They say the next minute, the skies turned black, they heard a deafening roar, and their street was destroyed in a matter of seconds.
This house belonged to the Gurley family. Kenny Gurley, the father, was wearing a sling around his arm from some shoulder surgery he had had recently. He said they were all inside the house and saw the tornado approach. His wife, Cassidy, was asleep on the couch, and he told me right as soon as he ran in the living room to tell them to get cover, he was blown from one side of the house to the other, jumping on top of his kids and lying on the floor face-down until it was all over.
Here is what's left of the Gurley home.
The Gurleys were one of about ten houses on the road. Other houses had seen similar destruction, although interestingly, one or two houses near the end of the 3/4ths of a mile road were completely intact, and neighbors were providing shelter to some of the victims. It was beautiful to see everyone there for each other. A lot of the folks I talked to on the street said they hadn't talked to or knew many of their neighbors until after the tornado. Sometimes it takes total destruction to bring people together.
Some people weren't so lucky, like the Mitchell family. Bruce and his two children, Adam and Jerry, were picking through the remains of their weekend home, looking for sentimental objects.
Debris from fallen trees and downed power lines covered the roads all weekend, and both residents and law enforcement/emergency responders were still clearing away refuse from the roads. Below, Sea Island Drive resident Heath Cannada watches over one of the bonfires where debris was burned.
Some of the more striking pictures I had taken were inside of the Thornton home. Chuck Thornton told me about grilling out some food around 11:30 AM, when the skies grew black and the wind picked up. So, he went inside, and watched through the window as his grill was lifted into the air and never seen again. They let me inside the home to take pictures. As you can see, entire rooms were left in total ruin, yet pictures remained on the wall despite a roof, and dishes even hung on the drying rack.
These people were mostly still shell-shocked when I talked to them. I think what they need now more than anything is small monetary support. I know Kossacks are busy contributing to get Blanche Lincoln thrown out of the Senate and for lawmakers to move on a climate bill, but if you have any money to spare to some homeless Mississippi families, they would appreciate it.
The Salvation Army is accepting donations. $100 will help feed a family of four for two days, provide two cases of water and a household cleanup kit with brooms, mops, buckets and the like.
And what photo diary would be complete without some woozles?