Tornado at Atterbury

As I watch the rain and the storm continue into yet another day, I wonder where I should start. I guess by stating that I have the best guardian angel one could ask for. I believe it was through my angel, that I chose to stop for some food before heading up to work at Camp Atterbury for my annual training. I knew it was storming but I didn't really know how bad until I was in the McDonald's drive-thru and all the power went out in the entire shopping center. I waited in line until I could drive through, without food due to the power failure, and drive over to the gas station to pick up a soda and chips, my replacement dinner, before heading up to Atterbury. A man asked me if I was heading north and I answered that I was indeed. He said to be careful because tornadoes were coming through. I had to go up there so I jumped in my car and decided to race against the storm. There were branches and leaves all over the road, the traffic lights were all out, and all I could think is to get to Atterbury as quickly as I can before the tornado comes through so I can get into a safe building. Once I pulled onto post I knew something had happened. The traffic was backed up at the gate. By the time I got onto post the MP's were directed traffic around roads that were closed due to debris. He told me there had just been a tornado. Once I got to the office, and heard that the tornado had come through at 9:33, my jaw just dropped. I left the house at 9:20. If I hadn't stopped for food it would have placed me directly driving into the tornado. Once I got on post and drove to my location, I noticed some of the damage that had been done. There were cars turned upside down, debris everywhere, trailers destroyed, trees broken and stripped of all their leaves. Panic doesn't really set until until you know how bad it really is.

Normally I'm just post locator, which means I answer the Camp Atterbury switchboard. Last night I transferred my phone over and to the MP station and worked in there. It was chaos. The power was out so we continuted to work in the dark with flashlights and chemlights. The phone still worked and the first few hours of phone calls were people trying to find out about damage or family members. It was weird being the person on that side trying to explain to these families that we don't know anything at this time. We had all our emergency personnel going through barracks and buildings. Fortunately there were no casualties. Once everyone was accounted for, we began to assess the damage. It's devastating; in a matter of seconds the center of base was destroyed. It went right through the middle. Some of the buildings were destroyed, some with roof or siding damage. Many of the trailers were destroyed, one actually landing on top of a building. There were gas leaks and power lines down. There were cars turned on their sides or piled in the middle of roads. Debris was everywhere, blown across the fields, roads, and into the trees. Being a military installation, we also had to deal with over 2,000 soldiers and marines displaced, needing housing for the night, as well as food and water. As well as sensitive items, such as weapons that were in trailers, that had been lost and now are unaccounted for. There is millions of dollars worth of damage and weeks to come of repair and clean-up.

And as if it were not chaotic enough, about 30-40 minutes after the tornado went through, there was a high speed accident at one of the old front gates. The car had been going over 100mph and slammed into the gate at around 80mph. So we lost some of our emergency workers to man that accident. The passengers needed to be cut out of the vehicle but are stable at the hospital.

I left post this morning at 06:00, and it was starting to get light out. I could see some of the damage that I had heard about all night. It is surreal. I can't help but think about all the damage, about how I could have driven into the tornado, and how if the tornado had run through just a few miles south, it would have been my neighborhood. It really makes you think about how quickly things can change and just like that your life can be upturned. There's a button on the phone that I noticed that says "major alarm." I never thought I would see that button lit.

Camp Atterbury wasn't the only place affected by the tornado. Many of the surrounding cities have been hit. Edinburgh, a small city just north of Columbus, was devastated by the tornado. They closed the city last night. There were other towns that have been completely wiped out. I've never seen the effects of a tornado in person, always on t.v. It is unbelievable to see it in person, and especially in a place that you know.

Michael is staying late at UTES to continue to work on the damage. They have contracted out the repair work at the shop, but military workers need to be present to secure the building while they are they. There is still no power on that side of base. He has said that some of the post has gained power today. When I talked to him last, the sirens were sounding again as the storm was coming in.

Since there are so many pictures I want to share, I decided to upload them all to my facebook account. Here are the links so that you can view them.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55092&l=5f19b&id=618992246

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55093&l=35045&id=618992246