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Dallas tornado leaves trail of destruction ... Thanx to CBS This Morning
This posting will serve as Part 35 of the "Taste of Texas" series for this journal/ blog. I wanted to record this in here, because, again, it was one of those experiences that stay with you, and this tornado basically started in our part of town, in Northwest Dallas. A short opening video above, and to correct what they said of it being 110mph winds, no, it was 140mph. The thing about tornadoes, is that they are very unpredictable, as far as how they will move, form, re- form, skip across a landscape, to where they just randomly hit and miss. What is unique about tornadoes is the destruction, you will see a twisted aftermath, maybe a tall metal street light pole, wrapped perfectly around a tree or structure, or a tree, car, or large object sticking out of the side of a structure, total destruction, yet, 10ft from it, something standing that is fragile, that never been touched. Thanx to modern technology, we are able to get some idea these days on how they are moving. North and Northwest Dallas is more densely populated, than the far suburban or rural areas, so of course, you'll get more damage. This tornado they are saying, is the most expensive storm in Texas history, so far ... they estimate now, 4 dayz after, $2 billion, I believe it will be a tad more than the current figures. Northwest Dallas, west by sw of my location, is mainly working classes, lots of retail, clubs/ bars, strip mall type areas, so the residences and businesses are average. But this storm moved east after it formed, and areas like Preston- Hollow are multimillion dollar homes, and more expensive homes just a mile east of where I live ... I live on Marsh Ln & Forest Ln, far edge of NW Dallas, across Marsh Ln going east, starts North Dallas. Heavily damaged shopping areas, such as at Preston & Royal and Forest & Inwood, are more upscale type stores, restaurants, boutiques, etc ... so when these areas get hit, the damage becomes more costly ... shopping centers around Marsh & Walnut Hill, and apartments/ homes, are more working class areas. Then you have so much commercial businesses that was hit and schools across the whole length/ path of it, because it just happened to randomly take that route, which is rare. My neighbour, Brandi, yesterday asked me "how will the insurance companies handle paying out for this damage?" ... I told her "I guess by raising premiums, and trying to deny as many claims possible ... I don't know". Most of the apartment buildings in my complex, about 15 or so, only had some roof and shingle damage.
Last sunday when this happened, it was a drop dead gorgeous day out, above normal temps, mid 80s, etc ... it was later confirmed, that there were a total of 9 tornadoes in the DFW Metroplex that evening. Weather reports that day said to expect thunderstorms after midnight/ 1am. I was out running around alot that day ... was over in Southeast Dallas/ Pleasant Grove area, which is 25 miles down LBJ Frwy (I- 635) from home, and wanted to make sure I got home before 7pm, because Philadelphia Eagles were in town to play the Dallas Cowboys, both tied at 3W- 3L, in NFC East, sure as Hell didn't want to miss it (congrats to Cowboys 37- 10 victory). I guess around 8:30pm or so, the game on the tele kept getting interrupted with emegency warning flashes of severe storms sw of me. I then got a text from my daughter who lives in Bluffview/ North Dallas, an upscale area, between Lovefield/ Bachman Lake & Inwood Rd ... telling me, she thinks there is a tornado forming over by her apartment ... of course, she knows how to take cover. I looked at radar, indeed, just west of the lake around I- 35 (Stemmons Frwy), Northwest Hwy, and the Las Colinas area, up to Walnut Hill, there was confirmation, and that it was also moving east towards her place (still construction on some of the buildings too at her area, being a new built community, so loose construction equipment). My stepson's house is only .25 mile north of me, on the other side of LBJ Frwy in Farmers Branch. Seeing it moving east, she contacted her sister in Rowlett too, to warn her of the path it may be taking, now seemed north of the lake, and missing my daughter in Bluffview by a half mile, it's approx travel speed, if I recall, was @ 25mph. I knew this was serious now, texted my buddy in Lake Highlands, to tell him be aware, so texts were now going back and forth. I went outside immediately, pissed off as Hell, thinking I'm gonna lose my place/ apartment/ belongings. Looking in the skies for lightning flashes to locate the rotation funnel, I have a safe area, and a backup area at my place just for this, so from the street where I live, I can get in place/ cover in approx 15 seconds, moving quick. I tried to listen for that roar of it, which was hard, because of the emergency sirens and sirens from fire/ police vehicles. I didn't catch the uncoming roar (I guess some call it a freight train sound), it roughly looked about 1 to 1.5 miles south of my place and moving north.
At that point though, I'm not sure how it will go, just hoping I miss a direct hit. My neighbour Seline (spelling?) pulls up in her vehicle, I tell her to take immediate cover. She looked in a daze, wondering what's up ... I know that she is unfamiliar with this, she just moved here from LA, early 20s in age, born raised and lived most of her life, just a few miles south of Hollywood and west of downtown LA, this don't happen there, they've had tornadoes before, but very rare. I'm standing in a stance, ready to run in, wearing a hooded windbreaker, here comes the winds off the back of it, a mile away at that! The rains come fast and hard, hail stones, had to be at least, I would guess, 60mph winds, at that distance too ... I start to see debris flying in the skies, I run inside to take cover. 10 minutes later, I knew it was okay to come out, it passed, and went to the east/ northeast, towards Forest Ln & Inwood Rd, Richardson, etc ... I just had a big sigh of relief. My lights flickered a little, and in the neighbourhood, but nothing went out either, about 1 to 1.5 miles south, for miles east and west, all power was lost for folks, over 100,000+ people lost power quick. Now, 4 days after the storm, there is still power out, street and traffic lights even ripped from the ground and mangled ... and a aftermath of debris for miles that is incredible. I know this will probably take weeks to even get this fairly cleaned up. Just to try to get out of our neighbourhoods driving is a challenge, with traffic lines on major streets, many had to be closed, and the small streets to take short cuts were full of debris and trees down, in surrounding North & NW Dallas ... people in traffic for up to 3 hours trying to get to work by street, without traffic lights, etc. The looting you have to expect, they have cops pulling double shifts to try to protect these open businesses, understand, that you have places like jewelry/ diamond stores with missing roofs and walls, phone and tech businesses, and all other kinds ... this must be like a dream come true for looters, it wouldn't surprise me if they try to use drones to boost shit! As I'm writing this, the skies are getting very storm dark, rains starting, they are saying heavy thunderstorms and hail within the next few hours coming in from northwest, this is bad news for clean up and damaged properties, since it's been sunny and dry for the first few days after the tornado. It will also make rush hour traffic a mess, considering what it already is. Whatever we get this afternoon/ tonight, I hope will be nothing like we had the other night. Some more below on this, the last video is during the tornado.
Word Out ....
***** KRLD | DALLAS: Dallas Tornado Will Be Most Expensive In Texas History ... (newsread/ audio)
***** D MAGAZINE: Preston Hollow/ North Dallas Damage ... (105 photo slideshow)
Aerial Video Shows Devastating Aftermath In Dallas | NBC News ... Thanx to NBC News
Aerials show damage in Dallas, Garland, Richardson and more ... Thanx to WFAA
Tornado victims in northwest Dallas given hours to gather items ... Thanx to WFAA
'I chased around 9 or 10 looters out of here': Tornado victims protect property as clean- up continue ... Thanx to WFAA
Dallas lightning storm from Tornado 10/ 20/ 19 ... Thanx to pink16club
Tornado Touches Down In Dallas ... Thanx to CBSDFW
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***** PD/ RCJ: "TASTE OF TEXAS" ... PART'S 34 THRU 1
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Walnut Hill Ln & Marsh Ln, Northwest Dallas
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***** RANCH CHIMP JOURNAL "WELCOME" POST
***** RCJ MUSIC/ ART'S HONOUR ROLL SOCIETY (my hand- selected music/ arts picks)
***** "THE RESISTANCE | PERILS OF THE POWER POSSE" ... ( a 2 part futuristic Ranch Chimp Journal dream to dream on )
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