Bringing Harmony to your Habitat: Starting from Scratch

Here is a recount of my experience with the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa AL on April 27, 2011. I posted this on Facebook so that my family and friends would know what happened.

The day before the tornado (sometime in the early am) a water pipe in the apartment above ours burst and flooded two and a half rooms in our apartment. I had to do a lot of rearranging to make room for the fans and dehumidifiers. A third room had a tiny bit of water under a small table, so I moved the table into the living room to get it out of the workers way.

The day of the tornado I was in the computer room typing away on a story when my mother called and told me about a tornado in Tuscaloosa. I got off the phone and called Steven, who was on campus, to get more information. Steven, thinking it was somewhere else, told me that we should be all right.


I went and sat in the kitchen anyway. As I sat there, listening to the roar of the fans and dehumidifiers, a thought struck me, “The power’s out. I shouldn’t hear the roaring.”

So I got up and walked to the window. I didn’t stare; I saw what was coming and ran into the kitchen.

As I ducked down, “You’re going to get hit!” went through my mind. I ran back into the living room and grabbed the little table and ran back into the kitchen. As I ran, I could hear debris from other buildings hitting the apartment. As I slammed the table down on top of me and my dog, I could hear buildings coming apart. I curled up in a ball and covered my face. Archer tried to crawl under me; I have no Idea where the cat went.

I said a simple prayer, “God, forgive me for my sins. Please take me into your hands.”

That was it. I had peace. At that moment, I knew I was about to die and I was okay about it.

I don’t know how long it took to pass, I just stayed huddled under the little table with my dog. Then there was silence. After that, I could hear people screaming outside. A man ran out of my bathroom yelling. He ran through a second time and fell down, landing face to face with me. He looked surprised that I was there. He pulled the front door and drywall off of my hiding place. As I looked out from under the table, I saw sky. I could hear my upstairs neighbor screaming for help (another neighbor pulled her out of the rubble). I stepped out and saw that my neighborhood was destroyed as were all of the cars.

From there my neighbors were searching for neighbors in the rubble; we were pulling shoes out of the rubble for those who were barefoot. I was dragging Archer around as I was gathering shoes for people and looking for the cat.

Our apartment complex after the parking lot and driveway was cleaned.

There was a panic because someone started screaming that another one was coming. Everyone began to run to the local grocery store (one of the few buildings left standing). Being in the grocery store with a panicked crowed was probably the scariest part for me. People were screaming for family members lost, some were crying hysterically, others were screaming into their cell phones for help. There were also injured people everywhere in the store. Before I left, EMT’s ran in to save a baby that wasn’t breathing (I heard later that they had resuscitated the baby). There was a dog walking around wagging his tail trying to lick people; they were afraid of him and were throwing debris at him, trying to chase him away. I snapped an extra leash on him and took him with me. Back at the “apartment”, I grabbed a suitcase and threw a few clothes into it. Post-tornado Victoria’s fashion sense is quite interesting. I grabbed things that just didn’t make sense; a button up dress shirt with swim trunks for Steven sweater-dress and a tie dyed shirt for me (really random).

Our apartment complex after the parking lot and driveway was cleaned.

Packed up, we went to campus; we were going to sleep in Steven’s office. There was a mass exodus from Alberta City to campus and most of my neighborhood was trying to get to out. We found out, on the way, that the student rec center was being used as a shelter, so everyone went there. The rest is basically a recount of how Steven, my neighbors, and I slept for the night and made a game plan for the days to come. As neighbors, we talked about what we were going to do about the things we left behind, cars included. We parted ways, swapping numbers beforehand. We’ve kept a tight network of passing information, helping each other the best we can; not to mention that friends, families, and community have rallied around us.

Our apartment complex after the parking lot and driveway was cleaned.

The day after the tornado, I took a nap on a bench by Shelby hall; it was such a beautiful day. I am so grateful to be here. I’ve said it to so many people, I don’t feel like I’ve lost everything, I feel like I’ve gained a world of peace. I am not upset about my loss. I do worry for my neighbors and my neighborhood. I do have some plans stewing on how I can help my community; I hope to share them with you another time.

Thank you again for all of your help, we are blessed.