Twister destroys 6 homes in North Dakota

Twister destroys 6 homes in North Dakota
Storm system also produces lightning that kills teen in Wisconsin
ROLLA, N.D. - Residents say they were warned well before a tornado struck their small town, destroying six homes and damaging others.

Sheila Zinke said the sounding of the town's tornado siren Monday gave her and visiting relatives time to get to shelter.

"I was watching it from my basement, and I actually saw it come across the north section of town," Zinke said.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25587543/

Update on Boy Scouts after tornado

Twister kills 4 Scouts
Boy Scouts dived under picnic tables and were buried under a collapsed chimney when a tornado hit their camp in western Iowa, survivors said today. The tornado killed three 13-year-old Scouts and a 14-year-old staff member who also was a Scout, said Lloyd Roitstein, with the Boy Scouts. developing story
Injured Scout: 'We're OK. We're alive'
iReport.com: Send, view storm images
KETV: 'Tragic day for Scouting'

Tornado hits Boy Scout Camp, kills 4 in Iowa

4 killed as tornado hits Iowa Boy Scout camp
An official says 100 Scouts were at the Iowa camp for leadership training

BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC staff and news service reports
updated 3 minutes ago
LITTLE SIOUX, Iowa - A tornado struck a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa on Wednesday, leaving four Scouts dead and dozens of people injured, a Scouts spokeswoman said.

A dispatch operator with the Harrison County Sheriff's Office said first responders were at the camp site and more were en route to the camp, located about one hour north of Omaha.

Arli Hasbrouck, a spokeswoman for the Boy Scouts of America's Mid-American Council in Omaha, confirmed for the Des Moines Register that four Scouts were killed in the tornado, but she had no numbers of how many were injured.

"That's all we know at this point," she told the Register. "We've got lots of Scouters on their way to help."

Terry Landsvork, a meteorologist in Valley, Neb., said law enforcement officials had called the weather service Wednesday evening and reported the deaths and injuries at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa's Loess Hills.

"Last we heard, hospitals in Omaha had an alert for 40 inbound injuries," Landsvork said.

David Hunt, chairman of the Mid-America Boy Scout Council's Goldenrod District, which covers several eastern Nebraska counties, said the camp was hosting a leadership development course for boys.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25107608

Rep. Dan Boren: Helped soldier being deployed after tornado

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 9:32 AM CDT
Veterans Meeting Slated

By Wanda Freeman

TIMES RECORD • WFREEMAN@SWTIMES.COM

A veterans advisory meeting open to U.S. military veterans in LeFlore, Latimer, Haskell and surrounding counties is scheduled Thursday in Poteau, with Oklahoma’s 2nd District congressman as one of the hosts and speakers.

The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bob Lee Kidd Civic Center. From 10 a.m. to noon, veterans administrative personnel and case workers from Muskogee and Tulsa will be available to meet veterans and discuss their individual needs privately.

During a free lunch period, U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, will update attendees on current veterans legislation.

Boren, who has a veterans advisory panel that meets quarterly in Washington, said the Poteau event is a bipartisan meeting focused on area veterans and their needs. His office is working with Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., as well as the U.S. and Oklahoma departments of veterans affairs, the U.S. National Cemetery at Fort Gibson and AES Shady Point.

In a telephone interview last week, Boren said the advisory meetings don’t focus exclusively on medical benefits.

“All sorts of issues come up,” he said. “Someone feels like they’re not getting the exact benefits they deserve ... or sometimes people didn’t get their medals that they earned all the way back in World War II ... or a family has someone serving in Iraq and they want to send them things or feel they’re not being treated right. Last week, we had someone who lost his home in the tornado in Picher, and he was being deployed two days later to Afghanistan, so we were asked to help give him some extra time to help his family.”
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A car is not shelter in a tornado

Tornado deaths underscore risks of taking shelter in cars

Published Monday, May 12, 2008 at 6:05 p.m.

SENECA, Mo. — More than a third of the 22 people killed by a tornado that smashed parts of Oklahoma and Missouri over the weekend died in cars, troubling experts who say vehicles are one of the worst places to be during a twister.

"It's like taking a handful of Matchbox cars and rolling them across the kitchen floor," said Sgt. Dan Bracker of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, surveying the damage in and around Seneca, near the Oklahoma line, the hardest hit area. "This is devastating."

Among those killed were three people in Oklahoma who were rushing to reach a relative's house in their car; a woman whose car was blown off a road near Seneca; and four family members - Rick Rountree, his wife, his 13-year-old son, and his mother-in-law - who were in a van on the way to a friend's wedding when a twister packing winds of 170 mph struck the Seneca area on Saturday night.

"They were on the road when the warnings came," said Rountree's brother-in-law, Larry Bilke.

About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the National Weather Service, and the danger has not passed yet. Tornado season typically peaks in the spring and early summer, then again in the late fall.

This could also prove to be the busiest tornado season on record in the United States, though the final figure on the number of twisters is not yet in.
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http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080512/APA/805120526

One thing I thought of reading this is all the homeless people who live in their cars. They will have no way of knowing they are not safe in the cars when a tornado comes. If you know any homeless people or run a shelter, make sure you print the whole article and post it up with a warning to them to seek real shelter in case of a tornado. They will not want to do this because usually everything they own is in their car. Make them understand their "stuff" will not survive a tornado no matter if they are in the car or not. It's for sure, they will not be safe if they stay in the car.

Tornadoes rip though states, killing 20

Tornadoes rip though states, killing 20


Published: May 11, 2008 at 5:13 PM
PICHER, Okla., May 11 (UPI) -- At least 20 people were killed Sunday as tornadoes and intense storms ripped through portions of the Midwestern and Southeastern United States, officials say.

Search and rescue teams reported seven deaths in Ottawa County, Okla., 10 in Racine, Mo., one in Jasper County, Mo., and one near Purdy in Barry County, Mo., CNN reported.

More people may be dead in Missouri, said Susie Stonner, spokeswoman with the State Emergency Management Agency in Jefferson City, Mo.

"It's dark and it was over a wide area. Some of the houses have been completely destroyed. There's a possibility there will be additional people," she said.

A tornado ripped through Picher, Okla., around 6 p.m. Saturday, damaging several buildings, killing at least seven people and wounding about 150 others.

"It looks like a war zone. Some homes have fallen in, some homes have lost roofs, and some are now just slabs," said Michelann Ooten, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
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News has been replaced by gossip

When it comes to the political battle between Obama and Clinton, I've tried to stay out of it. Politics is something I have to keep up on because it is the politicians that will either take care of the veterans or not. To me, personally, I don't care if they are Democratic or Republican if they do not take care of the veterans. Yes, I've supported some Republicans who do in fact take a strong stand for the sake of veterans but there are very few who actually do it instead of talking about it. The only purpose for posting this latest political round is what the media has been avoiding reporting on.

Last night I put on CNN getting ready for bed. Tornados struck Virginia and there were over 200 wounded and massive destruction. Normally, the media would have had something like that covered from every channel. When I turned on CNN, they were talking about Obama's pastor Wright, instead of the tornadoes. Anderson Cooper did end up talking about the tornadoes but he gave that topic about three minutes, then went back to Wright.

I was wondering who is supporting Wright? Where is he getting the money to travel all over the place and who is acting as his publicist? After all, you don't get that kind of attention for just being captured in a You Tube video. He's one of thousands of pastors across the country who say a lot of things that their parishioners do not agree with. Most people go to church for the sake of going to church and fellowship and if they go for the sake of Christ, then they already know what is right or wrong. In my own life I have heard many religious representatives of Christ and raised my eyebrows many times over things they said. So is Wright getting the attention for what he said or the fact one of the members of his congregation happens to be running for the presidency?

No one would really care if Obama was not a member of the church he preached at. Yet this "story" should have died a long time ago because it really doesn't matter to the rest of us. Obama didn't say God damn America or anything else even like it. He is the one running for the office and should only be held accountable for what comes out of his mouth and what comes out of his works. Who is behind the attention Wright is getting?

What is wrong with the media when they do this kind of gossip work instead of reporting on the tornadoes and the lives destroyed by them along with all the wounded instead of gossip? What is wrong with them when they give hardly no reports at all on the lives of the troops in two occupations, their deaths, their wounds and the fact there are so many suicides and attempted suicides? Where are the reports on the law suit Veterans For Common Sense filed against the VA and the discovery of the data that had been hidden from the public all this time? Where are the reports of the money, tax payer money, blown in Iraq on construction projects that have never been completed but we paid for anyway?

When and who decided that the news would be reduced to a tabloid with an occasional report on actual news? This nation has a heap load of troubles facing us. Seems to me that what one pastor has to say does not really match up with what is being reported on. Instead of reporting on the fact that a lot of members of the Virginia National Guard just got back from Iraq and then faced with the catastrophic emergency like what the tornadoes left behind would be a lot more important to report on that what Obama's ex-pastor had to say.

Chaplain Kathie Costos


"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."

- George Washington

Storms leave 200 injured in Virginia, officials say

Storms leave 200 injured in Virginia, officials say
Story Highlights

NEW: Injuries in Suffolk, where a tornado destroyed homes and businesses

A second tornado struck Colonial Heights injuring at least 18, an official said

Video shows roofs torn off, cars flipped, trees snapped in half

An emergency shelter will be open by Monday night, an official says



(CNN) -- At least three tornadoes caused massive damage in Virginia and injured more than 200 people on Monday, officials said.

At least 200 were injured in Suffolk where a twister destroyed several homes and businesses, said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

The storm hit the 138-bed Sentara Obici Hospital, though Spieldenner said the facility was still operational and accepting patients.

A second tornado struck Colonial Heights -- about 60 miles northwest, near Richmond -- injuring at least 18 people, he said.

A third twister damaged several homes near Lawrenceville, about 70 miles south of Richmond, said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, which confirmed all three tornadoes.

Gov. Tim Kaine declared a Virginia-wide state of emergency as hazardous weather continued through the central part of the state.

The Suffolk twister touched down just before 4 p.m. ET and plowed its way east into Norfolk, damaging scores of homes, stores and cars and downing dozens of trees and power lines, Jackson said.


Video footage from the scene showed roofs torn off homes, cars flipped over, trees snapped in two and a caved-in section of a newly constructed shopping center.

Furniture, fences and mounds of other debris were tossed in streets, parking lots and lawns. Watch the storm's massive destruction from the air »

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http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/28/tornado.virginia/index.html

also on this

Local Headlines

"My Kitchen Window Blew Out"

Suffolk Public Schools Closed Tuesday

UPDATE - Mandatory Neighborhood Evacuation

Tornado Photos From Hampton Roads

More Viewer Storm Pictures

Storm Cloud Photos From Hampton - Langley Air Force Base

Storm Shots In Pungo - See The Pictures

Tornado Damage - Photos Sent In By Viewers

Tornado Pictures Near Obici Hospital in Suffolk

Tornado Spotted Near King's Fork High School
http://www.wtkr.com/default.asp

April 23, 2008

Virginia Defense Force- ready to respond in 2008

Courtesy of the Virginia Defense Force

RICHMOND — National Volunteer Week will be celebrated April 27 to May 3. It recognizes the many volunteers in our state that contribute individual time and efforts that benefit the citizens of the Commonwealth. This effort is exemplified by many organizations in communities throughout the state. The Virginia Defense Force is just one of many volunteer organizations involved in support to our citizens.
The Virginia Defense Force is an all volunteer force that is a member of the Virginia Department of Military Affairs. It provides support after disasters, specifically when authorized to assist citizens throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia whenever and wherever relief is needed in support of the Virginia National Guard under the command of Maj. Gen. Robert Newman, the Adjutant General.

The volunteer members are located in over 38 Virginia Army National Guard installations throughout the Commonwealth. They support the Virginia National Guard in performing state missions to provide interoperable communications, less-than-lethal security, emergency medical triage, traffic control, fix-wing aviation flights, and general manpower support as specified by the Governor of Virginia.

The division headquarters is located in Richmond and there are three operational brigades- Lafayette, located in the Tidewater area; Black Horse, located in Northern Virginia; and the High Land in Roanoke. Two new battalions will be activated on the Eastern Shore and in Northern Virginia in this year.

The division currently has a total of over 700 members and in 2007 they contributed over 7,500 mandays of volunteer service. This resulted in a financial contribution to the Commonwealth of over $1,000,000. The future trend is for the VDF to exceed the past year’s mandays for volunteer service to the state based on the increase in new members throughout the Commonwealth. The long term goal is to have 1,200 volunteers in four to five brigades and 12 to 15 battalions.

For more information about the Virginia Defense Force go to www.vdf.virginia.gov; or contact by e-mail at vdfinfo@vdf.virginia.gov; or call the Division Headquarters in Richmond at 804-228-7018 or 866-791-9164.

Will the National Guard be able to respond?

April 22, 2008

Charlottesville, Leesburg and Woodstock area Va. Guard Soldiers return from Iraq

Soldiers from infantry companies headquartered in Charlottesville, Leesburg and Woodstock assigned to 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team returned to the United States April 20 and 21 after serving in Iraq and Kuwait since September 2007. The Soldiers flew into the demobilization station of Camp Shelby, Miss., and will conduct a number of different administrative activities to transition from active duty back into traditional National Guard status prior to returning back to Virginia. Approximately 150 Soldiers are assigned to each company.

The units will spend four or five days at Camp Shelby, but the exact arrival date for their return back to Virginia has not been determined at this time. The Virginia National Guard Public Affairs Office will issue a follow up advisory once the return date has been set.

All three infantry companies were assigned to convoy escort duty in Iraq and had numerous enemy engagements via improvised explosive devices, small arms fire and complex ambushes. A and B Companies operated in Al Anbar Province or Multinational Division West. A Company operated and in some of the most dangerous areas in Iraq to include Fallujah and Ramadi, and B Company operated in hot spots west of the Euphrates River and the far western portions of Iraq near the Syrian border.

C Company provided convoy escort in Multi-National Division North and operated in some of the more recent danger areas around Mosul and Kirkuk. Nine of the 10 Soldiers wounded in action from the battalion were from C Company. The battalion had no fatalities.

In addition to the three infantry companies, the Battalion is made up of approximately 100 Soldiers from the Winchester-based Headquarters Company, approximately 125 Soldiers from Fredericksburg-based D Company and approximately 125 Soldiers from Fredericksburg-based F Company, 429th Brigade Support Battalion. These three units will return to the USA in the coming weeks. Additional information about their return will be provided once the units have landed at their demobilization station.
http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/

Tornado leaves Little Rock like 'war zone'

Tornado leaves Little Rock like 'war zone'
Story Highlights
The storm hit parts of Saline County, about 12 miles west of Little Rock
More than 50 mobile homes were reported on fire at a large mobile home park
At least four people were reported injured
CNN) -- At least one tornado ripped through central Arkansas Thursday evening, savaging a mobile home park and sending National Weather Service forecasters into a bunker as the storm roared overhead.
"There's pretty extensive damage in the Little Rock area," said John Lewis, a senior forecaster with the weather service at the North Little Rock Airport.

At least four people were hurt, authorities said, but there were no reports of fatalities.
"We went into our shelter," Lewis said. "We could hear it ... go by."

The storm destroyed hangars at the North Little Rock Airport and tossed numerous small planes. The forecasters spent about three minutes in their shelter.

"The scariest moment of my life," said Mike Aubrey, who was at the airport securing his plane ahead of the storm. "Debris was flying across the ramp. Planes were beginning to stack up."
Aubrey said he saw a Douglas DC-3, an early passenger plane, spin around. The aircraft was nowhere to be found after the tornado passed, he said.
The damage extended from southwest of Little Rock to the northeast. "There's some structural damage in the city of Little Rock and several areas north of North Little Rock," said John Rehrauer, spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department. "A lot of trees and power lines are down."

The same storm also caused damage in southwestern Little Rock and the town of Benton, Lewis said. It also pummeled the Hurricane Lake Mobile Home Park in Saline County, about 12 miles southwest of Little Rock. Watch how tornado scares residents »


Again remember here, PTSD is caused by trauma.

Don't tell Melinda Bygate one person can't make a difference

In wake of deadly tornadoes volunteer 'put life on hold to help'

Adrian G. Uribarri Sentinel Staff Writer
March 29, 2008
LADY LAKE - Melinda Bygate paced around Sunshine Mobile Home Park, cell phone to her ear.

"I'll get you that money, one way or another," Bygate blurted. "Don't you worry."

For more than a year, Bygate has been helping victims of the Feb. 2, 2007, tornadoes cope with their losses. Now, she is receiving national recognition for her efforts.

The U.S. Small Business Administration will honor her with its Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contribution to Disaster Recovery by a Volunteer. She will drive to Washington, D.C., next month to receive the award.


Before the tornadoes, which killed 21 people in Lake County and destroyed hundreds of homes in Lake and Sumter, the 56-year-old golfed five days a week and enjoyed retirement after a decade running a cabinet shop in Oldsmar with her husband, Arnie, 68. The devastation she saw that morning spurred her into action.

"I just felt this incredible need to help these people," she said.

When she offered her help to organizers at a church, she said she was told there were already enough volunteers.

Undeterred, she lent a hand anyway.
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After the tornado - Greensburg , Kansas

I received this in an email. It shows what humans have to learn from "dumb animals."

After the tornado - Greensburg , Kansas

THIS IS SUCH A NEAT STORY

The story begins with the rescuers finding this poor little guy they named Ralphie.
Ralphie, scared and starved, joined his rescuers...


Someone had already taken him under their wing but weren't equipped to adopt;
I wouldn't think anything could live thru this...but we were wrong.




This little lady also survived that wreckage.
Here she is just placed in the car - scared, but safe.



and then...they are no longer alone!

Instant friends, they comforted each other while in the car.



Add two more beagles found after that...the more, the merrier!
Oh boy, a new traveler to add to the mix...



(note : the cat coming over the seat needing shelter...)



now just how is this going to work??? - and remember they are all strange to one another.




Wow! The things we learn from our animal friends...

If only all of mankind could learn such valuable lessons as this.

Lessons of instant friendship. Of peace and harmony by way of respect for one another -- no matter one's color or creed.

These animals tell you... 'It's just good to be alive and with others.'

Yes, it surely is.

So... Live, Love, Laugh.

'Life's a Gift... Unwrap It!'

Students were trapped at Union University

ANDREW McMURTRIE/ The Jackson Sun.Medical personell set up a make shift tieage unit following a tornado that ripped through the Union University campus Tuesday in Jackson. 2/05/08

Eight students trapped in dorms at Union University, emergency workers at scene

A storm system passing through Jackson has damaged several buildings at Union University and trapped some students in the university's resident halls, according to a university spokesman.

At least eight students are trapped in Hurt Complex and Watters Complex, which are residence halls at the school, said Tim Ellsworth, who is news director at the university.

Ellsworth said no serious injuries have been reported so far. He said untold damage has been done to cars parked on the campus and that emergency responders are working to free students from debris.


Ellsworth said classes at the university have been cancelled until further notice.

Elswhere in Jackson there are power lines down and the roof has been torn off of the bank at Channing Way and the U.S. 45 Bypass. Check back on jacksonsun.com for more information.
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/NEWS01/80205036

The students and the rest of the people in the way of these monsters, lost everything they owned. Most said it's just stuff. But what they will come away with is the trauma of it happening and seeing everything they found safety in is gone.

Two dorms destroyed, students trapped at Union University
By James Dowd (Contact)
Originally published 08:56 p.m., February 5, 2008
Updated 05:23 a.m., February 6, 2008

At least two dormitories were destroyed and the roof of a classroom building was sheared off at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., following Tuesday’s storms.

As a result, classes have been cancelled for the rest of this week and all of next.

Tim Ellsworth, the school's news director, said 51 students went to the hospital and nine had injuries that were classified as serious. At least eight people were trapped in a damaged dorm until rescuers could dig them out.

Ellsworth said the school dorms have been "reduced to piles of rubble. I know we had students huddled in the bathrooms."

"A couple of buildings have almost completely collapsed and the roof of Jennings Hall is almost completely gone," he said.

More than 1,000 students were estimated to have been on campus at the time the tornado touched down.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/
feb/05/two-dorms-destroyed-students-trapped-union-univers/

The trapped students, much like the people who were trapped in other states, will end up with emotional trauma hitting them. The deepness of the cut will not hit all at the same level. None of it should be dismissed, denied or avoided. They need to be able to seek peace within themselves after what they went through, just as anyone who survives a traumatic event needs to heal. I hope when they return to their families for the time being, they are carefully watched so that as soon as signs appear, problems can be addressed and they can get the help they need. It's stressful enough to be away at college but to go through all of this is beyond the normal stress level.

Tornadoes Kill 50 in 5 Southern States
By ANTONIO GONZALEZ,AP
Posted: 2008-02-06 14:04:20
Filed Under: Nation News
LAFAYETTE, Tenn. (Feb. 6) - Residents in five Southern states tried to salvage what they could Wednesday from homes reduced to piles of debris, a day after the deadliest cluster of tornadoes in nearly a decade tore through the region, snapping trees and crumpling homes. At least 50 people were dead.

......Twenty-six people were killed in Tennessee, 13 killed in Arkansas, seven killed in Kentucky and four killed in Alabama, emergency officials said. Among the victims were Arkansas parents who died with their 11-year-old daughter in Atkins when they stayed behind to calm their horses. The community, one of the hardest hit, is a town of about 3,000 approximately 60 miles northwest of Little Rock.

Ray Story tried to get his 70-year-old brother, Bill Clark, to a hospital after the storms leveled his mobile home in Macon County, about 60 miles northeast of Nashville. Clark died as Story and his wife tried to navigate debris-strewn roads in their pickup truck, they said.

"He never had a chance," Story's wife, Nova, said. "I looked him right in the eye and he died right there in front of me."
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/tornadoes-kill-50-in-5-southern-states/20080205214909990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

So many people involved in these states and the rest of the nation needs to help them heal. Not just replace their property and give them temporary shelter, but to give them sanctuary from the pain.

Tornadoes Rip Through South, Killing 48

Tornadoes Rip Through South, Killing 48
By ANTONIO GONZALEZThe Associated Press Wednesday, February 6, 2008; 10:17 AM
LAFAYETTE, Tenn. -- Daybreak revealed a battered landscape across the South on Wednesday, as crews searching communities hit by a violent line of tornadoes fought through downed power lines, crumpled mobile homes and snapped trees to find victims. At least 48 people were dead.
The storms swept across Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas as Super Tuesday primaries were ending, ripping the roof from a shopping mall, blowing apart warehouses and crumpling a campus' dormitory buildings as students huddled inside.
Seavia Dixon, whose Atkins, Ark. was shattered, stood Wednesday morning in her yard, holding muddy baby pictures of her son, who is now a 20-year-old soldier in Iraq. Only a concrete slab was left from the home.

click post title for the rest and video