·
Picture courtesy of and used by permission of
OKIE Livin
Tuesday evening I was down in Elk City,
OK to pick up a load when the tornado sirens went off. When I left OKC about 4:00, I assumed a quick
trip down, drop and hook, straight back and home by 9:00. You know what they say about assuming, right?
News9 reported 1 confirmed fatality
and at least 100 structures damaged with more than 50 destroyed. The tornado has been estimated to be an
EF2. I’ve lived most of my life in the
Midwest, so while this isn’t my first experience with a tornado, it is the
closest I’ve come to seeing one. I think
I was about 5 miles from the path of the tornado, but I’m not familiar enough
with Elk City to say for sure.
I was sitting in the storm shelter
with warehouse employees, office employees and other drivers - listening to them
chatter - but staying mostly quiet. I was
praying for the safety of people who didn’t have the luxury of a storm shelter when
I had the strangest thought. “God, you
know how I feel about moving into a truck, I need you to keep her on her wheels
out there.” I wasn’t concerned about my
safety; one of the office people had made the statement that the shelter was
built to withstand 300 mph winds. I was
more concerned about my truck. My
concern doubled when I remembered that my phone was sitting on the dash.
By the time all the excitement was
over and I got out of there; I had been there for almost 4 hours. I didn’t get home until after midnight,
undamaged but exhausted. I’m certainly
not looking forward to a repeat performance.
Many prayers are going up for the
victims of the tornado in Elk City and for the safety of all those who live in
tornado prone regions.
No comments:
Post a Comment