wow, thank you all so much for your love and support. fortunately, the injury toll has actually been reported to be around 145. the death toll is a whopping zero. considering that tornadoes are freakishly rare in Virginia, much less an Ef3 or a weak EF4, those statistics are nothing short of miraculous.
the pictures don't encompass well enough the actual severity of the damage. seeing it for oneself brings it all full circle.
www.wavy.com has a ton of pictures and video of the damage and the tornadoes themselves. the one that hit suffolk (my city) was a true behemoth. as such, the damage is estimated to be somewhere around $20 million. the website also has numbers you can call if you wish to make donations or volunteer your services, if anyone's interested.
we are all so very lucky to have our lives and our families today. it's amazing that the $300,000 homes were completely annihilated, yet the trailer park where i live and the other one in driver where my aunt lives (and where i grew up at) remained absolutely untouched.
ironic thing is, i was supposed to be in driver on monday afternoon, staying with my cousin. due to the transmission in her mother's car going all cattywhompus, i wasn't able to stay. originally that was an inconvenience, since i had stuff to take care of at my college and my aunt was my ride, but in retrospect, i'm perfectly fine with the fact that i dodged a bullet. the scariest moment of the day was calling my best friend and screaming at him to get out of the area where he was because the twister was on its way.
i am so deeply touched by everyone's support and prayers, as are my family and friends. check out the footage, it's unreal.
suffolk is a city chock full of strong people. i should know, i've been here THIS long. we're gonna make it.
and everything's gonna be okay.
