This is not a Test!

Last night my family and I went out to dinner because we lost power at home.  While waiting to order, my dad's phone rang and after seeing who was calling said, "This isn't going to be good." It wasn't.

Our Deltaville neighbor was calling to tell us that tornadoes had come through Deltaville and we had a tree on top of our house there.  We were fortunate.  Our neighbor is missing his roof, several out buildings, his carport and his dog.  He knows the dog is alive as he was able to locate her, however, she took off before he could catch her. 

I immediately checked on those I knew and loved down in the area.  Thankfully they were all OK and had missed the tornadic activity.  And I am thankful to them for offering their help in any form they could- opening their homes to my parents who are headed down there, spreading the word, sharing information...  Once more I realize how blessed I am to have found such good people!

In the meantime, we received another call from a cousin who's wife and daughter were there in Deltaville.  They were lucky and had no damage to their home.  They said the tornado sounded like a freight train just as it's always described.  And it left behind a mess.  Several homes no longer have rooves.  There are some large pines that have been snapped off.  One house near the boat ramp is gone.  Just- gone.  The church at the end of the road was destroyed and according to the information we got, there were people screaming for help in that area.  Our cousin said his wife and daughter were unable to get to the area where our house is because of the large amount of debris. 

At last report, the road into Deltaville was impassable after the Deltaville Market (who I heard stayed open to serve Emergency Workers- kudos to you!).  I have not heard about other areas of the town.  The information I have is only for the very small Jackson Acres community on Jackson Farm Lane and Sturgeon Point Loop.

Gloucester was also hit by tornadoes last night at the same time as Deltaville.  Unfortunately, 3 deaths have been reported there along with some severe damage to schools and homes.

Please keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers and if you live nearby and have a chainsaw and some gas... I'm sure there's more than enough to cut up.

And again THANK YOU to everyone who has offered to help and who has been spreading the word.