The Nashville Refugees

Thursday:

Today we woke up at 6:00 am and much to our surprise, the electricity did not come on in the middle of the night. Owen decided to head out to see if Walmart was open to grab some food. As the sun came up, it be came clearer how bad the storm had been the day before. While he was out we found out Tuscaloosa, AL had a F5 Tornado hit and had continued its path throughout the state. Here's the headlines regarding this day in history...

Tornado outbreak that left 342 dead was biggest in history with 226 twisters in just one day

There were more tornadoes in a single day in America last week than any other day in history. The tally in last week's outbreak came to 312 tornadoes, including a record-setting 226 in one day. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the largest previous number on record in a 24-hour period occurred on April 3-4, 1974, with 148 tornadoes.

NOAA says 334 people were killed during the 24-hour-period from 8am Wednesday to Thursday. More people were killed by tornadoes in that period since April 5-6, 1936, when 454 people died, mostly in Tupelo, Mississippi, and Gainesville, Georgia. And it was the deadliest single day for tornadoes since the March 18, 1925, tornado outbreak that had 747 fatalities across seven states.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano toured hard-hit neighbourhoods of Alabama and Mississippi on Sunday to offer condolences and pledge support. "This is not going to be a quick comeback or an immediate (recovery) but it will be, in my view, a complete one,' she said in shattered Smithville, Mississippi, where little was left standing. Federal officials already have said several areas are eligible for disaster relief, including 28 counties in Alabama and four in Tennessee.

Since power wasn't going to be on for 5-7 days, we decided to hit the road and head to Nashville to regroup since we didn't have food or a generator. Luckily, I had just filled up my car so we had a full tank of gas. That was such a blessing since there was no way to get gas. Brad & Jill Cox headed out of town with us. As soon as we got to Nashville we began a quest to get a emergency kit started. On the list was ammo (yep...ammo), lights, batteries, candles, weather radio, generator, gas tanks, gas, water filtration tablets, cash, and an inverter for the car were the top items on our list.

Things I Learned Today:

• I really love my family and I'm very thankful to have Owen as my best friend; we make a great team.
• I really need to be more prepared, including having groceries in the house.
• Take Jill with you when you need to shop...she's great at making the supply list. She's even better at hunting down a generator!!!
• People are a little nervous when your buying ammo, gas tanks, and batteries all at the same time. Ok, maybe a lot nervous.
  
• Generators sell out in record time, even two hours away from the damage area.
  
• When you've just tracked down one of the few generators in the town, don't park your car where it can be blocked in by desperate people.
• God calls you in times of need so get ready to rock & roll!