The blaring noise of the wind through the streets mixed with the severe weather alerts on our cellphones. Through my window, I could make out silhouettes of trees blowing uncontrollably through the rain. This was not something that I was expecting during the holiday season. On the night of December 26, 2015, our family went into a safe room inside of our house and braced ourselves for the tornado that was tearing through my hometown.
The morning afterwards, everybody was getting text messages and phone calls to ensure that everybody was okay. The rising sun granted us the ability to see the full damage that the tornado had brought to our small town. There were houses completely ripped in half, roofs missing, pieces of fencing were thrown around; the aftermath was a very devastating scene. People were walking frantically outside on the streets, rummaging through the debris, coming to terms with reality. I saw people crying while others comforted and hugged them. This was the first experience where I had seen neighbors supporting each other and it affected the way that I saw Sunnyvale; through this period of sadness, I saw support.
The town of Sunnyvale
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This experience made me realize the unity of my community because of the amount of teamwork it took to work together with such a diverse group of people. Sunnyvale has always been home to me, but I was just now realizing that my community was like a second family to me. They have taught me how to take initiative and to help out whenever possible, aiding with my transition into a young adult. By participating in the tornado cleanup, I learned how to become somebody with an essential role in my own community. We gained strength through our numbers and learned that we could cooperate with each other to Although Sunnyvale is just a small dot on the map of Texas, it is home to one of the closest communities you could
I remember that storm as clear as day, I had just sat down for breakfast that fateful Sunday morning before church, when I felt a cold wind coming from the crack in the window
Over one hundred and twenty five years ago one of the most powerful, disastrous, and devastating snowstorms hit the United States with a deadly vengeance. This particular storm was called by a couple of different names such as “The Murderous Blizzard of 1888” and The School Children’s Blizzard”. No matter which name it is referred as, the results after the storm were gravely unimaginable. Without warning this storm killed over five hundred people mostly children. This life changing, painstaking day would hunt families for years to come. This day in history showed a normal routine of chores being done while school children went off to school, a shift in weather, the blizzard, and life after the blizzard.
First off, Mrs. Baker utilizes her opening paragraph in order to appeal to us logically by informing us of the dynamics of a hurricane that once hit Oklahoma City. Mrs. Baker states the following; “On the evening of May 3, 1999, a massive tornado
On August 26, the storm was getting weaker everyday. A cold front was moving east and downgraded the storm to tropical. Soon when the Hurricane got to Pennsylvania, the storm faded away. Some people tried to dismantle their houses to see what was left (Sherrow, 1998). After the storm over, 11 inches of rain had fallen in Louisiana, and 7 inches in Mississippi (Rappaport, 1998). 275 small planes were no longer functionable. Over 325 trees looked like they had been smacked off. Power boats were stacked on top of each other. Power lines were down because trees were on top of them (Provenzo JR. & Provenzo,
It was April of 1999. My family was at home. Children were running outside. The asphalt was burning. Cars rolled up to the entrance of the apartments and BANG. I grew up in Stockton, California. Surprisingly, as a minority, I wasn’t really a minority. There were, in fact, a large and diverse population of Asian-Americans. But, Stockton is not the ideal place to live. It was hot and dry, almost to the point of a drought. Stockton was also ranked as the one of the top 5 most dangerous cities in California. So, having a nice and safe family is kind of difficult. Eventually, my family decided to move to Crescent City, California when my dad retired. It was a world of difference. There were trees, plentiful water, and a nice cool temperature. This
It was a seemingly normal, sunny day in Kansas. It did began to rain, but that was normal, rain happens everywhere. I still remember everything from what I was doing, and where I was at. This is the story of the tornado that ripped through my town in 2011.
Three years ago, what I thought was only supposed to be any other November night, turned into a blizzard that made headlines all over Northwest Kansas, specifically affecting Colby and Atwood, leaving us with over 20 inches of thick, heavy snow (Newton). It piled up against houses, and blocked roads. The snow fell fast and it fell
By disproving an Indian myth, this extensive F5 twister confirmed that a tornado can strike anywhere at any time. Ultimately, the twister caused an estimated loss of $41 million by destroying over 600 businesses, 850 homes and 2,000 cars (Sawyer Amanda 1); that is about $363 million dollars in 2016 dollars. Being prepared for a natural disaster such as this, could possibly have led to fewer casualties. If the community of Waco wouldn’t have ignored the warning signs I’m certain more lives would have been saved. When tragedy struck, the city of Waco came together and supported each other during this disastrous time, which showed courage. There were many heroic people on that fateful day, and there also many who lost their lives. Many people believe the tornado was the cause of the way Waco’s downtown area is today, because it never totally recovered. Although, this was a horrific natural disaster, something valuable came out of it. The Waco Tornado of 1953 was a major turning point on how we view and track tornados today. Fortunately, with the use of technology, we are able to track tornadoes. Meteorologist identifies and understands the basic ingredients to be able to forecast a tornado. In today’s modern world we are fortunate to actually have a plan on what should be done before and during a tornado. To able to have warning signs and an action plan
On the afternoon of April 14, 1886, the city of Sauk Rapids in Minnesota was nearly wiped out after a tornado had struck the city. The whole city was left in complete devastation. Natural disasters have always interested me, specifically tornadoes. Something about tornadoes, whether it’d be how they form or how they acquire their power to cause great destruction, interests me to learn more about tornadoes. This led me to research about tornadoes in Minnesota. As I began surfing the internet about tornadoes that occurred in Minnesota, I came across the effects that each tornado had caused to the areas that it had struck. This is where I discovered the effects of one particular tornado called the Sauk Rapids Tornado. As I looked at the
Hello, reading over your discussion about growing up in Inglewood California brings to mind my African American co-worker who talks about living in Compton. She tells us often how growing up in that area you had to carry either a gun or a knife and be on guard whenever you go anywhere. She is a very dear friend of mine and she reminds me she is a changed person from the way she used to be. Her mother still lives in California but in a better neighborhood now but she is planning a trip to see her mother. My friend often tells me years ago she and I would have never gotten along because she had so much anger inside her. I am glad my friend did get out of that neighborhood alive and somehow found in her heart to not keep anger inside.
The city of Chicago has been displayed as a dangerous city in which all residents are affiliated with drugs, gangs, and misconduct of firearms. Whether someone fits into this stereotype or not, is normally based on their surroundings and their interactions with others. Growing up in Gage Park, named one of the worst neighborhoods, falling into this stereotype and becoming affiliated with drugs, guns, and gangs, would not be too hard for someone to do. However, I have lived in Gage Park my whole life and have not fallen into the status quo. I have had family members and friends fall into this realm of unpleasantness and watching them become another wrong kind of statistic is upsetting. I have been faced with the decision of continuing to have
Back in 2012 we had a Derecho which was a damaging wind storm which some people called it a mini tornado in Waynesboro. I was outside at a racetrack when this happened and it seemed like time stood still. Everyone was rushing to their cars to go home and running around looking for somewhere to take cover. All I can remember was the adrenaline rush to get into a safe and sturdy place to wait out this storm. My mawmaw told me to get under the concession stand shelf, but all I wanted was to peek up and watch as this wind picked up every little thing it could. Trees were down, power was out, and destruction was left behind for some houses. The ending quote Crenshaw wrote, “I realized they watched from the window to see the terrible beauty of the storm…”( 2004, pg.206), made me relate back to that night because all I wanted to do was sit and watch as this storm
During the spring, the snowless winter has finally come and passed, no more bitter-cold winds. The sweet aroma of the flowers blooming is taken in through your nose every time you step outside. The cool air and warm temperatures allow us to go outside in peace once again. In Lubbock those temperatures change in the blink of an eye. One day during school a raging storm occurred out of nowhere and it happens almost every spring. We were in the middle of our daily exhausting track workouts at the beginning of the workout it was a warm 90 or so degrees and after one of our breaks we come back outside a thunderstorm pouring rain. Most of the time the spring rains and storms are not horrible, but this was one for the ages. At first, we heard a light
Back then in May of 2008, most days at work, I spent my time outside hiking and walking ten to twenty miles a day, under pleasant, clear skies and sun in the fresh Rocky Mountain air, where you can breathe deep and be refreshed. On May twenty-second around 11:00 A.M, I was outside and ten miles from home, enjoying the ever changing weather of northern Colorado. The day started out clear, but grew increasingly cloudy and windy—not at all unusual for spring in the Rockies. East in the distance, thunder drew my attention to the dark, ominous clouds traveling northwest, bellowing up into the sky as lightning danced in, through, around, and from cloud to cloud, indicative of thunder and hail storms; I was thankful the looming and foreboding storm was there and not over me. Unaware I was seeing the birth and growth of as many as seven tornados, forming a devastating wedge, ranging in width from one half to three-quarters of a mile wide; a monster with winds in excess 165 miles per hour, moving toward and that would soon hit my home town of Windsor, just before noon; I was oblivious to the peril and confusion my family and friends would soon be facing from this encroaching demon.
On a snowy and windy night, I was at Barnes & Noble in Green Bay with my friends, Alan and Karina. Christmas music played overhead, the smell of hot chocolate and freshly brewed coffee wafted over, the customers were kind and cheerful, and snow was beginning to blanket the parking lot outside. We were sitting near the cafe wrapping books to support their mom’s school fundraiser. I stared outside and remembered my mom’s warning of the large snowfall that was almost upon us. Around 7:15, the snowflakes were becoming larger and we could barely see outside the window.