Parkersburg

As I mentioned in the previous post, we were camping this weekend. That is until a wicked storm moved through. It dropped a tornado near Aplington that went on a 45 mile rampage before finally disappearing into the clouds. My parents didn’t have any damage but my brother-in-law’s family near Winthrop had broken windows on houses and vehicles.

The next morning Ryan and I headed home taking Hwy 187. All of the houses in Lamont had water lines on the siding showing where 2 or 3 feet of water had previously been standing. Corn stalks and other debris was matted against the houses after the water receded. Power lines were snapped at the base for a mile or two south of town.

We headed west. Just before we got to Waterloo a guy Ryan works with called to say a few people were helping with clean up in Parkersburg, which was nearly flattened by the tornado. So we joined them. I’ve seen a house that went through a tornado – but I’ve never seen anything like that before. House after house for the width of almost four blocks and about two miles long were completely ripped apart. As we drove across town I noticed spray paint on the doors and battered cars. I realized it was done by the search and rescue team as they checked for survivors. A few of the houses looked like doll houses. The front had been ripped off but the furniture all sat where it was left. The closet doors had been ripped off but clothes still hung on hangers. And nothing remained of other houses but a cemented hole in the ground.

We stayed and helped clear debris and search for valuables for a few hours – a tiny, minuscule speck of what still needs to be done.