my family's tornado

I can't believe I have neglected to post about this for so long.

My Aunt and Uncle who live in Clay County, about 30 miles from Manhattan, had a tornado hit their house and farm during the days of storms that continued after the Greensburg tornado. It lifted the garage completely off the house and deposited it in a field nearby. It ripped the roof off the living room, kitchen, and utility room and dumped 5 inches of rain onto everything inside. Even the finished basement underneath these areas was soaked. They have insurance, of course, but everything is just a mess. At first they were thinking it would all be repairable, but now they think they might total out the house - depending on if the subfloor is damaged, I guess. Other farm buildings are damaged, and 2 cows had to be put down.

My brother Jeff went up to help clean and clear things last weekend. He said when they went to see where the garage had landed, it was an incredible site. There were beams from the garage driven 4 feet into the ground, which were impossible to remove, even with a tractor. At the other extreme, there were tiny slivers of wood driven through shingles. The cows that witnessed the storm are so spooked and wild that they can't be put out to pasture like they normally would this time of year. Jeff said he is amazed at how well my Uncle is handling the cleanup. He is around 60 yo, but apparently very tough and a very hard worker. It is overwhelming and difficult, of course, but Jeff was impressed with him. My Aunt has 30+ years of household goods and storage to clean up and sort through.

I am so thankful they weren't home when the storm hit. There were on vacation in Branson. Hopefully, they would have taken shelter and been safe in the basement, but you never want to take a chance.