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Monday, March 10, 2014

{February 21, 2014 Tornado in our Subdivision}

While we were still in The Netherlands on Friday morning, February 21, there was quite a strong tornado in our subdivision.
We were having dinner with our Goddaughter as I got a message on my iPhone from our cat-sitter, back home in Georgia.
I called her right away and learned about her ordeal that morning as she could not even enter the subdivision... The police had blocked off all entrance roads!
But they graciously let her pass via a different route so our kitties could get fed!!!
This is what we still found 5 days later, after having returned from The Netherlands from Mom & Dad's 65th Wedding Anniversary...
We did drive around our neighborhood for taking some photos...
Of course, most of the chaos had been cleaned up and hauled off already.
Yes, our Winfield Road is mentioned above in the newspaper article from Friday, February 21...
It also had rained excessively, still puddles of water after 5 days!

We are so blessed that our home and garden had no damage at all.
Our 6 felines were all found safe inside by our cat-sitter, once she could get through.
The heavy equipment from the county and the city also caused quite some damage...
We can only imagine how it must have looked right after the tornado came through.
Huge trees snapped off like matches...
 Most has been hauled away...

Sad sight in our neighborhood...
So muddy...
Wet - wet...
No wonder; 4.69 inches or 11.9 cm of rain in the time that we were gone!
How blessed we were for having finished all the water projects in time!
Our home stayed dry so all the back breaking hard work did pay off!

The force with which huge trees got uprooted...

Unreal...
Our entire subdivision in a way still has been blessed; only one injury...

Related link:
Severe Weather Hits North and Central Georgia | National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
{Water Control Project Finished} | previous post by me about 4 projects to protect our home
{Fighting the Water + Scanning Slides} | previous post by me about Flood Water problem last year
{Our Damage from Tornado spin off of Hurricane Earl, 2003} | previous post by me




54 comments:

  1. I'm glad your kitties and sitter were safe. Plus a relief for you that no damage was done.
    Hugs Kay

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    Replies
    1. Dearest Kay,
      Indeed, we count many blessings! It was such a scare and for some people it really has been a nightmare. So sorry for their total loss of home and goods.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  2. really glad your place escaped damage! i know you would have been so upset if something would have happened to your cats while away. sad to see the tree loss, too.

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    1. Dearest Theresa,
      So thankful that our cats were safe and well and this proves again how important it is for having special care for them in place. Oh, the neighborhood must have looked devastating right after the tornado hit. Roads were blocked I learned and it looked awful. Even as we walked today, there still is a lot to see that needs to be dealt with.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  3. A catastrophe like this reminds us we are not in control of Mother Nature. So glad your home and felines were OK. I survived three hurricanes while living in Central Florida back in 2004, remember how everything looked and felt for weeks and weeks afterward.

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    1. Dearest Helen,
      Oh my does Mother Nature always put us on the spot; we're oh so little compared to this universe with its natural powers that can wreak havoc.
      We only lived through one hurricane and one tornado spin off of a hurricane in 2003 and 2004 where our trees got snapped off, plants and shrubs got washed away and our bridges totalled... It never is a nice sight. That takes a lot of hard work and it never will look the same again. We were very lucky this time!
      Hugs to you,
      Mariette

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  4. Glad to hear there were no fatalities. I don't lke tornados at all...unfortunately, we have to deal with them on a regular basis. Glad we have a basement with a n interior closet...our safe place.

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    1. Dearest Daniela,
      Well, in many countries there is one or another natural disaster just around the corner. Here in the south we have to face lots of this kind of things. We too have a very sturdy basement where we can shelter if needed; provided we are at home!
      Hugs to you,
      Mariette

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  5. Dearest Mariette;
    OMG; how LUCKY you are that your project has payed off in time and your house was safe from the rain. It must have been so relieving for you that your kitties were safe! How scary Tornado must be; on TV while having breakfast, we were watching the news show featuring 3.11/ 2011 (tsunami and accident of nuclear power generation). Nature always overwhelms us unexpected damages, isn't it☆☆☆
    Have a WONDERFUL Sunday, my friend;

    Sending you Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my dear friend in America, xoxo Miyako*

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    1. Dearest Miyako,
      Oh, it is heartbreaking to see what Mother Nature is up to at times. It shows us how little we are; there is something far bigger than all of us combined here on this planet. But if it affects the lives of people it always is tragic. Luckily here were no lives lost, only personal damage and that mostly can be repaired except that one home that got totalled like it had exploded. Things are still up in the trees... Awful for finding all your belongings like that.
      We have been blessed and if some higher power did push Pieter for finishing these four water control projects NOW; before we went to Europe! Lots for being thankful for; hard work did pay off big!
      Hugs to you my dear.
      Mariette

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  6. Hello Mariette, You were lucky to be away during this terrible storm, and even luckier that your house and pets suffered no damage. It must have been scary getting the news about the tornado and then not knowing how badly you were affected.

    Cleveland is at the end of the Midwest 'tornado belt' so I am somewhat familiar with them. Once over 100 trees came down in my yard, but none hit the house! Like you, I was fortunate to be spared.
    --Jim

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    1. Dearest Jim,
      Being lucky to be away and also scary for not knowing exactly what had happened around you... Only five days later when we got home, not at 22:15 but the next day we got to see what it looked like. Very hard to believe indeed that we not even had a branch found in our entire garden and wood garden. Lucky us for having taken down 3 trees in December. Quite expensive but we reasoned that if they fell on our home or the neighbor's it would be even more expensive. Great forsight and also for completing all those water control projects. We had water in the basement last year February and this year, with that tornado, the rainfal was almost trice that... Good test and we're feeling very blessed!
      You too had your share of tornado damage in Cleveland. It brings a lot of work for clean up afterward. May we always be spared... wherever we are!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  7. How sad for those who lost property and had damage. I'm glad your home remained safe from this storm.

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    1. Dearest Sarah,
      Oh, it is without words to see some property being completely destroyed... Such force in only a few seconds. Luckily nobody was home at that time of the week around 8:30 AM!
      We feel very lucky indeed and with us most people in the neighborhood.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  8. Liebe Mariette,

    das ist nicht erfreulich.

    Von hier kommen sonnige Sonntagsgrüße
    Elisabeth

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    1. Liebe Elisabeth,
      So etwas ist nie erfreulich!
      Hier wird es heute auch 23°C und es sieht aus ob der Frühling jetzt entlich durchsetzt.
      Liebe Grüsse,
      Mariette

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  9. Mariette, du Liebe,
    es ist gut, dass dieser Kelch an euch vorüber ging.
    Es sieht erschreckend aus. Es ist gut, dass es keine Toten
    gab. Aber der Schreck bleibt und die viele Arbeit.
    Einen schönen Sonntag wünscht Dir
    Irmi

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    1. Liebe Irmi,
      Ja, nur wegen die Arbeitszeit und Zeit der Schule am Freitagmorgen um 8:30 Uhr hat dafür gesorgt dass die meisten Menschen einfach nicht da waren... nur wenige die es miterlebt haben.
      Und wie erschreckend es aus sieht und davon haben wir eigentlich überhaupt nichts gesehen da es schon alles weg war nach 5 Tage... Trotzdem war es schlimm an zu sehen und wir sind so froh das wir ohne etwas Schaden davon gekommen sind. Und auch gegen das dreifache am Regen, im Vergleich mit vorigem Jahr, geschützt waren da Pieter so hart gearbeitet hat vor die Reise.
      Auch einen schönen Sonntag und liebe Grüsse,
      Mariette

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  10. Liebe Mariette,
    es ist schlimm für die Betroffenen - Gott sei Dank wart ihr in Holland und euer Haus
    wurde auch verschont -

    liebe Grüße - Ruth

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    1. Liebe Ruth,
      Ja ja, wir wurden wirklich verschont diesmal da wir in Limburg in den Niederlanden waren. Auch froh dass die Katzen drinnen waren, die warteten zusammen auf ihr Essen...
      Sehr schade für die Betroffenen indertat.
      Liebe Grüsse,
      Mariette

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  11. Wat erg, wat een ravage! Gelukkig niets op jullie huis terecht gekomen en de waterafvoer ook net op tijd klaar. Ik heb het niet gehoord of gelezen hier in Nederland. Het is wel angstig dat natuurgeweld als bomen zomaar omknakken alsof het luciferhoutjes zijn. Na de storm in oktober hier zie ik in de bossen nog steeds beschadigde bomen, dat was echt heftig toen en de eerste keer dat ik niet meer naar buiten durfde. Kon me toen voorstellen hoe een tornado moet zijn om mee te maken.

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    1. Bese Marianne,
      Ja en dan te bedenken dat de ergste ravage al vijf dagen eerder werd afgevoerd door de gemeente en de county. Wij hebben er eigenlijk daardoor bijna niks van meegekregen in die zin. Onze dochter Liz had het in Xanten, Duitsland kennelijk wel gehoord op het nieuws en zij stuurde ook meteen een message om te vragen of het bij ons was.
      Natuurgeweld kan heel erg beangstigend zijn en daar is niks tegen opgewassen!
      Fijne zondag nog!
      Liefs,
      Mariette

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  12. Dearest Mariette,
    I was very happy to so blessed your home and your lovely Kitties were safe. The rain in the time your gone! we has No rain for long time we will has from tomorrow and next Tuesday .....
    Hugs to you and happy weekend!
    Michiko

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    1. Dearest Michiko,
      We too were so happy, hard to believe when you are told so but after 5 days we got to see it with our own eyes when we had flown back to the USA. Our kitties were kind of clinging to us, probably they got a good scare and animals do sense such event up front too.
      You are lucky that you now can get outside and play some golf. Enjoy it while it lasts.
      Hugs to you and happy weekend too.
      Mariette

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  13. I'm sorry that this happened in your neighborhood, Mariette, but glad that you were safe. The weather can be quite unpredictable in the South - similar tornadoes hit our neighborhood years ago when we lived in southern Louisiana. The dog was acting weird, so we knew something was up - next morning, three houses nearby were gone. <3

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    1. Dearest Stacy,
      Oh, living in the South does have its cons and in 2003 and 2004 we lived through some tornado and/or hurricane damage as well. But people do clean up and go on with their lives. We were so blessed this time and with us many others. It could have been a lot worse.
      Pets usually do sense this way ahead of us. Sad memories of those homes that got destroyed...
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  14. OMG Mariette!!How sad for those who lost property and had damage. I'm so glad your home and your pets remained safe from this storm!How lucky you are indeed!
    Wish you a lovely week!!Hugs!
    Dimi...

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    1. Dearest Dimi,
      This is quite sad for all people with property loss and damage. Trees can be cleaned up and replanted but not having a home anymore is worse. We have been blessed and also our pets with their excellent care. Otherwise we would not even have known about it.
      Happy week to you as well.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  15. What a disaster.. I can see how strong the tornado was by your photos. It is one of the scariest thing, to be hit by natural disaster while you are away. But what a relief that your home and kitties were all OK. And how great you had finished the water project before it happened! I hope those who were affected by tornado will be able to recover quickly.
    Have a lovely Sunday!

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    1. Dearest Tamago,
      Oh, those photos taken after 5 days still do represent the tornados force. It is very scary but we feel so blessed and we are very happy to have a cat-sitter that watches out for them and for the house. And that big and back breaking water project has been such a great thing for having it completed before departure. It was quite a struggle to get it finished with all the bad weather interruptions but we did it. Now the tiles and it will look beautiful and it has proven already to function very well.
      We walked yesterday and people were out and about cleaning up branches from the ordeal, soon it will look like nothing ever happened. Roofs still need repairs but they will manage to have that done, nothing that major really.
      Happy Sunday to you and a sunny week ahead!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  16. I had not heard about this....

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    1. Dearest Lorraine,
      To us it was also quite a surprise, especially because we were out of the country...
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  17. Hi Marriette.What a disaste!!!the weather can be quite unpredictable ....I'm sorry that this happened in your neighborhood...

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    1. Dearest Angélica,
      Indeed what a disaster and quite a scare. We too are very sorry for those that had property damage and lost so many trees.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  18. Lieve Mariette,

    Wat een ravage en ellende kan de natuur aanrichten,maar goed om te lezen dat jullie huis aan dit alles ontsnapt is en helemaal goed om te vernemen dat de poesjes binnen waren en in goede handen.
    Waarschijnlijk heeft er toch ergens een engeltje bij jullie in de dakgoot gezeten;-)

    Liefs,Ger

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    1. Lieve Ger,
      Ja hè, Moeder Natuur kan heel erg kwispelturig zijn... Ja, wij hebben wel eens gegrapt dat onze engel bewaarders soms overuren draaien en dat bleek wel weer. Het was zo'n zegen om te horen dat alles in orde was; we konden het eigenlijk nauwelijks geloven en dachten eerst die willen ons niet ongerust maken. Maar tóch, er kwamen goeie berichten van onze vrienden. We voelen ons maar wat gelukkig hiermee en het is meer dan triest dat er één huis helemaal vernield is. Daar zet ik ook geen foto van op mijn blog... het is al erg genoeg. Mensen zijn nog aan het opruimen... we wandelden gisteren even lekker in de buurt.
      Liefs,
      Mariette

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  19. Storms like this scare the hell out of me not that I have ever been in one

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    1. Dearest Jo-Anne,
      Oh, who would not be scared when encountering this. We have lived through a few but so far not much damage; thanks to God!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  20. Liebste Mariette,
    ja, das ist immer schlimm, wie gut, daß es an Euch vorrüber ging und daß nichts schlimmeres passiert ist und niemand sein Leben verloren hat! Ein Schreck bleibt immer, das kann ich gut verstehen!
    Ich wünsche Dir einen guten und sonnigen Start in die neue Woche!
    ♥ Allerliebste Grüße, Claudia ♥

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    1. Liebe Claudia,
      So ein Tornado ist immer ein Schrecken und wenn niemand sein Leben verloren hat ist eigentlich jeder froh.
      Wir haben jetzt herrliches Wetter; entlich mal.
      Liebe Grüsse,
      Mariette

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  21. Oh dear that was some damage. Im happy to hear your home is safe now. Hope it starts to warm up over there now. We have a lovely and sunny monday morning here.
    Have a lovely week ahead

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    1. Dearest Eva,
      It was very scary to read about this from our online local news paper. We are so blessed and no lives got lost. Our water control projects certainly did pay off!
      We do have lovely weather today 25°C and tomorrow 26°C but Thursday night again 0°C. Crazy weather...
      Hugs to you and enoy your week at work and otherwise.
      Mariette

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  22. Oh das sieht ja böse aus, liebe Mariette! Doch wie gut, daß Euer Haus nicht betroffen war! Selbst hier in Good Old Germany hat es ja inzwischen Tornados. Man kann nirgendwo mehr sicher sein. Der Mensch in seinem Größenwahn hört leider nicht auf, seinen Verbrauch herunterzuschrauben und so werden diese Wetterlagen zu- statt abnehmen. Da ist es gut, ein stabiles Haus zu bewohnen mit möglichst keinen hohen Bäumen ringsum.
    Danke auch für Deine lieben Zeilen, die ich dort noch beantwortet habe.

    Liebe Grüße in die neue Woche
    Sara

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    1. Liebe Sara,
      Ja ein Tornado ist immer schlimm da es alles mitnimmt was auf seinem Weg kommt.
      Solches Wetter gab es ja schon immer aber mit den Druck von dicht bevölkerte Teilen sieht es schlimmer aus. Die Menschen verursachen es ja nicht und wenn man über Verbrauch redet, wieviel Energie kommt frei mit den vielen Vulkanausbrüche? Wir können sogar nicht die Energie messen, die dadurch verloren ist... Viele so genannte Wissenschaftler schreiben ihre Geschichte aber das Universum ist unermesslich und es gibt nur eine Erklärung, dass es irgendwo einen allmächtigen Schöpfer gibt!
      Ein stabiles Haus ist genauso wichtig als gesunde und stabile Bäume nicht nur die Kiefer die nie tief wurzeln. Wir hatten Gott sei Dank so einen alten 65+ Jahren alter Kiefer umlegen lassen im Dezember.
      Liebe Grüsse und eine schöne Frühlingswoche.
      Mariette

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  23. Ohh Mariette,che disastro...tutti quegli alberi enormi abbattuti in un attimo...fa paura solo a pensarci!! Sono felice di leggere che la tua casa non ha avuto problemi,per fortuna!
    Un caro abbraccio...quà c'è un vento fortissimo ed io temo per i pini giganteschi e vecchi che ho davanti a casa,se cadono sarà un disastro simile a quello che ci hai mostrato!!!
    Anna

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    1. Cara Anna,
      Oh questi venti forti sono sempre spaventosi. Spero che con voi nel cortile anteriore succederà nulla grave. Radici di Pini mai stanno molto profonde e sono sempre più a rischio. Abbiamo nei dintorni della nostra casa non di più, così solo sani querce e altri. Siamo così felici che tutti i progetti per controllo di acqua hanno mantenuto la nostra casa completamente asciutto. Comunque duro lavoro ripaga così.
      Sperando che non si verificheranno gravi cose questa settimana a causa del forte vento. Un grande abbraccio e amore.
      Mariette

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  24. Dearest Mariette,
    What a disaster in your area!!!! I am glad to read people were not injured although many had damages in their properties. You were really blessed! And how thoughtful of you to have already finished all the work in order to protect your house! I hope this tornado is the last one of this kind!
    Many hugs to you!

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    1. Dearest Marie-Anne,
      Oh we have been blessed by having finished all the work finished for protecting our home from excessive rain water because of such tornados or hurricanes. So glad that there were no real victims in our neighborhood. Property damage can be repaired.
      Hugs to you,
      Mariette

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  25. Olá

    Impressionantes estas imagens, o que a natureza faz, é preciso cuidado.

    Manuela

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    1. Querida Manuela,
      Oh mãe natureza pode ser muito forte e sempre temos que ter cuidado. Sorte que ninguém se machucou.
      Abraços,
      Mariette

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  26. Dearest Mariette,
    when you live a disaster like this...you think how important is to live everyday 100%!!!!
    hugs
    Leti
    Sin pereza

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    1. Dearest Leticia,
      Oh yes, it is one more lesson learned!
      It goes bad if Mother Nature lets those trees bend and twist... wrong exercise and they just snap off. Awful sight and still after 5 days it looked bad. We have not even seen the full scope of this ourselves as we were still in The Netherlands.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  27. Oh my goodness, Mariette! I have been away from blogging a little while and I come back to find a tornado has gone through your subdivision! I am so happy for you that you suffered no damage. You have certainly been through a lot with the flooding from last year! Glad to hear that there was no loss of life, too. Too bad about the homes damaged and the total loss of one and the injury. We have been getting tornadoes all the way up here in Washington State the last few years. One went through our area two summers ago and knocked down a barn. The weather is crazy. Glad you are safe. Hugs xo Karen

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    1. Dearest Karen,
      Thank you and yes, we have been blessed and even more so while we were away from home, being in The Netherlands... It is such a blessing we have a wonderful cat-sitter that did inform us right away via a message, so I could call her and find out.
      Mother Nature can cause some problems here and there.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...