The radio says weather, and the wind says, Yes, I mean it

[pameladean]

I keep getting emails, so I thought I should post this. David and Lydy and Raphael and Eric and I are all fine. If you know people in south Minneapolis or the southern or western suburbs, they should be fine. However:

http://www.startribune.com/local/122417279.html

Briefly: Three tornadoes smashed up parts of St. Louis Park (a suburb), Brooklyn Center (a suburb), Theodore Wirth Park (an actual park, home of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden), and large parts of north Minneapolis (a part of Minneapolis), as well as parts of Fridley (a small city). The destruction is horrifying. Part of the problem seems to have been that, as with the smaller tornado that ripped up Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis a few years ago, the ground was so soaked with water from previous rains that mature trees came right out of it and fell on buildings and cars and across roadways.

The Red Cross and Salvation Army seem to be on the job, along with the police and fire departments and Xcel Energy. But it's a huge job.

Pamela

Comments

[rosefox]

I'm so glad you're all okay. Thank you for posting.

[pameladean]

Thanks. It took me a while to think of posting. Minnesota seldom makes national news except for the blatherings of our stupider politicians.

P.

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to hear you and yours are alright. That sounds very frightening.

[pameladean]

Thanks. It was certainly Not Fun. Things in my neighborhood didn't even look very scary, just like a thunderstorm. But the radar was really horrifying.

P.

[wild-irises.livejournal.com]

Lou Hoffman and her family are fine, but their house is missing much of its roof. So scary.

[pameladean]

I'm glad they're okay, but agh.

P.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Yikes. I hope Jeff and Marjorie are okay up at the northern edge of town, and likewise folks I know out in St. Louis Park.

Many thanks for your post. Good choice of subject lines, too. :-)

Follow-up

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Jeff & Marjorie's neighborhood was spared. Whew.

Re: Follow-up

[pameladean]

Thank goodness. I had forgotten they loved over there.

P.

[pameladean]

It came right to mind, somehow.

P.

[raphaela.livejournal.com]

Glad to know you're okay!

[pameladean]

Thanks!

P.

[hilleviw.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the update. I used to live in St. Cloud and still have many friends in the Mpls area. I haven't wanted to harangue them for information, and having these details lets me know who might be needing help and who should be fine.

[pameladean]

Yes, it's always hard not to grab the phone and demand details. One of my partners was out in the storm, and I had to practically lock up the cellphone so as not to call while he was, you know, DRIVING IN A TORNADO. Because distraction is just what one needs in those circumstances. (He's fine.) I hope your friends are okay.

P.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Relieved to hear that you are all okay.

[pameladean]

Thanks!

P.

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

I'm glad y'all are well.

[pameladean]

Thank you.

P.

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

thanks for posting, and I'm glad you are OK.

[pameladean]

I hope your peeps are all right too?

P.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Eep! Glad you are OK; I hope most other people are too, even if buildings are damaged.

[pameladean]

Most other people seem to be -- one fatality, two severe injuries so far. And of course a lot of people are scared silly and traumatized, but it could have been worse.

P.

[redbird]

Thanks for the reassurance.

[pameladean]

My pleasure; sorry I didn't think of it sooner. Minnesota isn't really on the national media's radar as a rule.

P.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh, Wirth Park. If I didn't know how horrible it was to have one's home destroyed by tornado, Wirth Park would upset me most.

[pameladean]

I know.

P.

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

Very glad to know you're all all right.

[pameladean]

Thanks.

P.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

This morning they're giving numbers: 1 fatality, 29 injuries. I suppose there might well be people missing who will end up in or the other category later. Still, at least so far that's remarkably low for the amount of damage done in a city used to being mostly passed by by the tornadoes.

[pameladean]

And on a weekend, when people were at home (rather than safely at work) or out and about.

P.

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to hear you're safe. This weather lately. It's just too much.

[pameladean]

It's nuts. It's only May, for crying out loud.

I gather that Joplin, MO got hit pretty badly at about the same time, and of course they are still clearing up wreckage in Alabama. Argh.

P.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I came here to see how you were. I've been thinking about you and your family. Love from Jackie

[pameladean]

Thanks, Jackie, and the very same to you.

P.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Glad you're all well. Was it disturbing to cats?

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

*phew*

[pameladean]

8-)

(The deleted post is just where I inadvertently copied my response to jinian as a reply to you. I didn't even know that could happen.)

P.

[thinkum]

Thank you for the post -- Jerry and I were fretting when we saw the news yesterday. Sorry to hear that the destruction was as bad as it was, but much relieved to know that you and yours are okay!

[pameladean]

I just never think of us as being on the news, but it really was a bad set of storms.

P.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Holy shit - glad you all are okay!

[clindau.livejournal.com]

Wirth Park got hit pretty good--trees down at the golf course, and the wet land looks *really* wet today. I took a bike ride through the area and saw some big carp frolicking in the grassy water; they must have been in carp heaven.

There is some kind of dredging project going on at Wirth Lake. The twister picked up two of three big dredging barges and tossed them OVER Hwy 55 into said wetland. One was being drained as I went by, the other apparently has a hole in one of the floats and was half-sunk in the water.

Trees down around Wirth Beach too, but the beach house was spares, as was my favorite tree in the park--the one with the ivy-covered trunk. I was so happy to see it still standing.

The tree in my icon is the backyard walnut--if that tree ever goes over, boy howdy and uff da.