15 June, 2013

Aftermath

We were hit by a fast-moving storm on Thursday afternoon and hit hard! I had just stepped back inside the house after letting Hannes outside when the wind picked up and the power went out. I looked up and saw leaves and limbs flying past the window with a speed and intensity I had never seen or experienced before. I grabbed Hannes and ran to the basement. There was rattling and trembling outside the house follwed by a short period of torrential rain. When I dared to lookside this is what I saw. Thankfully there was no injury or damage to our home. This 100 ft. oak passed within feet of the corner of our home.The driveway cracked beneath the weight of the tree.
This root ball stands ten ft. high.
The following photos show damage and destruction alongside our driveway:



The trees that were snapped and twisted off were done so twenty five feet off the ground.
Another uprooted Oak.
My husband's car could only pull in the driveway a short distance,
the driveway closer to our home was completely impassable.
The clean up begins. Our son and his chain saw arrived and helped too; we couldn't have done this without him. We worked late into Thursday night, not calling it quits until some headlight-aided raking was done.


It was all very scary, but nothing compares to the fear and worry associated with my husband being on his way home during the storm. I didn't know where he was or how bad the conditions were on the roads where he was. I later learned  that he had to cut his way home through downed trees with a borrowed saw; the road that leads into our neighborhood looks like a war zone.  I can't remember ever being happier or more relieved to see his car pull in (or as close as he could get) to the driveway. Through all of this we remain thankful to God for our many blessings and to family, friends and neighbors for their help and concern. We've got our work cut out for us, literally, for weeks to come.
Life is Good!

28 comments:

Janet said...

Glad you and your family are all okay! I dislike scary storms! We were camping in WV last year when one of those "derechos" went through. Good luck with the rest of your clean up!

Teresa said...

What a fright you have had. We were following the storm on the news and for sure it was awful. So glad you are all ok.

Nane said...

I wasn't aware at all how bad this was inside the Krispy Kreme building. So glad all the trees missed the house. I can now only imagine how the folks that loose their homes entirely must feel.

Janet O. said...

Wow!! So glad you are all okay!

Dora, the Quilter said...

I grew up in tornado country--your experience brought back a lot of memories--I am so glad you are safe and hope the clean-up is easier than expected. So sorry about that ancient oak!

Mary said...

What a powerful storm to do so much damage. Glad it missed any important things or people. But the cleanup looks daunting.

Unknown said...

Does this storm have a name or was it just a storm? We had a tornado here in Oregon this past week. Rare one but a bit of damage.

julieQ said...

All praise that you and yours are ok!!!

Marie said...

Praise God that you all are safe! The clean up will take a while ,and what a reminder of who is in charge of our lives and what takes place . Thanks for your daily reminders of our faith. Many hugs to you and your family . Marie

KaHolly said...

Oh my goodness, I am so glad you were safe. So many storms this spring!

Carol said...

OMG that is so scary...I'm so glad everyone is OK...hubby home safe and sound...these storms are really getting scarier and scarier. Sending good thoughts and lots of energy for the clean up.

Anne Heidi said...

I am so glad you are all ok. That storm must have been really bad. The cleanup will take a while I am sure, but the important thing is that no one was hurt.

quiltkeemosabe said...

Jeannie just got power back Saturday at noon and some won't get it back until MOnday, or so it's been told.

Gari in AL said...

Your yard looks like ours did after a hurricane. So glad you sustained only tree damage and that all is well. And look at the great firewood you will have for the next few winters.

Quiltdivajulie said...

When Hurricane Elvis passed through Memphis, we saw damage like this (widespread). We heard chain saws for weeks (DH and the guys in his guild went from member to member to friend to neighbor to another neighbor, helping to reduce the debris to manageable messes). Yes, very scary and enormously humbling.

TAKE CARE!!

Lucky Duck Dreams said...

It was a scary storm! My mom texted me to stay at work it was so scary in Lewisville! I'm glad none of the trees hit yr house. Some of my friends were not so lucky.

Miriam said...

So glad you are safe!!!

Nancy Near Philadelphia said...

Terrifying! I am thankful all of you are safe.

Sherrill said...

I completely understand all your feelings of fear and worry. I was in Okla. City on 5/31, the night the 2nd batch of tornadoes went thru. And my 25 yo son and 16 yo DGD were on the road! We were in for a family reunion and were evacuated to the hotel ballroom. We drove through Moore, OK on the way up and saw the total devastation there as we'd seen back in 1999. Horrific. Glad all was essentially OK with you guys (even though you had some damage).

45th Parallel Quilter said...

How frightful and thank God you were all safe! We've experienced similar storms and they are absolutely terrifying ... makes you aware of the power of God and Mother Nature for certain!

regan said...

So glad everyone is safe and the damage is just a mess! It could have been so much worse! Hope the clean up doesn't take too long.

Linda in NC said...

I'm so glad you didn't sustain any injuries to persons or house!

sandra said...

So glad you and Mr Goodneedle(and Hannes of course)are all safe. And that none of those trees landed on the house. I can see there is a lot of work to be done cleaning up but it could have been so much worse.

Tanya said...

My goodness! That is amazing. Praise the Lord that He kept you and your husband and even Hannes safe when disaster was so close by. There is so much to be thankful for.

Debbie Lou said...

So thankful you are all safe. Be safe in the cleanup efforts. That's a big mess to take care of.

Gwen said...

So glad you are all safe! The same storm came through our area, Hampton, too. A large limb came down across the street and landed on the hood of our neighbor's truck. Otherwise, there wasn't too much damage here. However, about 30 miles up the road in the the Williamsburg area, there are still people without power today. A large tree fell on a power company substation and it is taking a while to rebuild it.

jude's page said...

Glad you are all well, must have been scary, all the best with your clean up, do you have wood heating?

LizA. said...

Wow! Glad you are all safe and sound. Guess I'm rethinking my lack of trees now......