Tornadoes in my backyard....

Hey there y'all! I'm just going to jump right in with this one.....we had 7 tornadoes touch down in my hometown on September 21, 2018 in the span of 4 or 5 minutes.

It. Was. Terrifying. This picture was taken by my girlfriend, we have been friends for 20 years. It was snatched up by the media (Ottawa Citizen used it within hours without crediting her...) and has been circulating since.

screenshot of her pic from my phone since my pics won't load correctly...she was stuck in her car on Greenbank while they dealt with these power lines.....

The destruction is mind boggling to someone who has never seen such a weather event! It looks like a war zone, houses and buildings are leveled. Farms and animals took heavy hits across the region with the tornadoes hitting 9 different towns. There were no deaths, however a handful of people remain in critical condition. The emotional devastation runs deep. There is widespread gratefulness and sorrow at the same time, matching losses against blessings.

I was in the truck driving when it hit. This is the warning from my phone, the radios were blasting warnings too.

I have never been so scared in my life and am thankful to have made it home safe and to only outside destruction at our place.

The old homestead out back of our house. You can see how close it is to the barn as well as our house! This was condemned and we don't use it, but now will need to be removed completely before winter

Dunrobin area is where I live, my street intersects with it. I can't bring myself to photograph much of the destruction, it seems callous to the people affected. There are over 80 homes just in our neighborhood completely gone. I have been volunteering with my family these weeks, there is an incredible amount of building to come in the weeks and months ahead.

There has been more help from community than any other type of organized or government help by far. The local business are keeping volunteer staff and residents fed, there are donations daily. It is so scary, it really makes you realize that sometimes no amount of prepping can help you.....any supplies accumulated were destroyed in some cases here. We really do need each other....remember to help others and be kind. You never know when things could go wrong.

Thank you for reading, take care of you and yours ❤