*Swirling Danger all Around
Tornadoes Nearby
From the Amish countryside where the school roof needed to be replaced…
to the suburbs in Portage, Michigan….
On May 7, 2024 the warnings began sounding. A tornado was nearby, we were to seek shelter!
When all was clear and the sirens were silent once again, it was time to walk outside to survey the damage.
Strangely, there were TWO tornadoes — one passed to the south in Amish country, just 20 minutes away. The other was headed straight toward my area but then veered off to the northeast to Portage, Michigan, damaging homes, trees and a Fed Ex facility.
We all watch TV images of the devastation in towns near and far. “Horrible!” we say. It wasn’t until my son and I drove through each of the areas, that the full impact hit as to what we were seeing.
Amish Country
Within days of the tornado touching down in the Amish farm country, clearing and rebuilding were already taking place. On one farm, one could see the Amish buggies parked as the helpers arrived to work on re-building a flattened barn.
It was amazing, to me, that the tornado was very ‘specific’ in what it hit and what it didn’t. Note the house and other barns were intact.
And yet the barn in the middle of it all was leveled.
Even the houses where the birds lived were functional.
Here stood a huge white barn, totally gone now. The house appears untouched. What a miracle!
Trees were toppled with their roots exposed.
There were trees and debris which fell across the dirt roads in the area. It took tremendous work to clear them so that when we drove by, the roads were open. Yet one could see six feet of big trees and tree limbs towering over us on each side of the road for a few miles.
Fast forward to only a week later and this one farm shows the progress made by these industrious people.
From Amish country, we traveled 10 minutes from just north of where I live.
The roads were littered with piles of debris which used to be the ‘bones’ of the homes. This view is over a week old. Much work was done and more is to come.
At times, hints of previous treasures can be seen.
Sometimes a stairway can be seen leading to nowhere now.
If you look carefully, one can see a CAR under the house which was blown off its foundation for a strange balancing act.
Some businesses were hit hard, too, such as the huge Fed Ex building, crushing at least one of their vehicles.
Tornado damage was severe in Amish countryside and in more populated areas but…
There was no loss of life! What a miracle from God’s hand as He protected human life!
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Dawn Ulmer, a retired Registered Nurse, has enjoyed writing since the age of 19 when she wrote ‘My Philosophy of Nursing’. After marrying and becoming a mother, she developed a newsletter for young mothers called ‘Moms and Sidekicks’. She has been a columnist for a women’s newspaper in Grand Rapids, Michigan on the subject of time management. From that column, her first book was written and published: “Balance of the Hurried Woman”. Through the years, she has been published in ‘Decision’ magazine, ‘Our Daily Bread’ devotional and other publications. Presently, she is enjoying writing on Medium, her favorite platform.
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