The Holy Roller Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 This afternoon around 2 o'clock we had a tornado drill at the St. James Middle School here in St. James, Missouri. Except this was no drill! The school took a big hit from a very powerful burst of wind (whether it was a tornado officially or not I am not sure at this time). We got all the kids into the halls and in position (you remember how stupid they were) when the electric went out and the emergency lights came on. This got everyone's attention. A few seconds later we felt a shudder and when I looked up I saw the ceiling tiles bouncing up and down. I knew we were being hit by something pretty powerful. That lasted for about 5-10 seconds and then it quit. Eventually our principal came around and we were told to keep the kids in the hall and wait. I went back into my classroom and looked out a window and saw the neighborhood behind our building just shattered with fallen trees, debris, and pieces of sheet metal siding from our school. To make a long story short all the children were eventually picked up and then I got to walk around and see the damage. The school took a full blown blast. The gym roof is about a quarter gone and one gym wall was moved about 12" off the foundation. Even the flag pole was bent parallel to the ground. Air conditioning units were blown offf the roof and there was insulation, sheet metal siding, and crap everywhere. All the cars in the parking lot lost most of their glasss with some vehicles smashed up by flying debris. The St. Louis news stations were there by the time I left and when I got home and looked on the Weather Channel I see we went national with the story. A couple businesses were hit pretty hard and about 125 homes have small to significant damage. But no one was hurt and for that I am the most thankful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 This afternoon around 2 o'clock we had a tornado drill at the St. James Middle School here in St. James, Missouri. Except this was no drill! The school took a big hit from a very powerful burst of wind (whether it was a tornado officially or not I am not sure at this time). We got all the kids into the halls and in position (you remember how stupid they were) when the electric went out and the emergency lights came on. This got everyone's attention. A few seconds later we felt a shudder and when I looked up I saw the ceiling tiles bouncing up and down. I knew we were being hit by something pretty powerful. That lasted for about 5-10 seconds and then it quit. Eventually our principal came around and we were told to keep the kids in the hall and wait. I went back into my classroom and looked out a window and saw the neighborhood behind our building just shattered with fallen trees, debris, and pieces of sheet metal siding from our school. To make a long story short all the children were eventually picked up and then I got to walk around and see the damage. The school took a full blown blast. The gym roof is about a quarter gone and one gym wall was moved about 12" off the foundation. Even the flag pole was bent parallel to the ground. Air conditioning units were blown offf the roof and there was insulation, sheet metal siding, and crap everywhere. All the cars in the parking lot lost most of their glasss with some vehicles smashed up by flying debris. The St. Louis news stations were there by the time I left and when I got home and looked on the Weather Channel I see we went national with the story. A couple businesses were hit pretty hard and about 125 homes have small to significant damage. But no one was hurt and for that I am the most thankful. Thank G*d that you and the children were okay. That had to be scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Oh man, that is way closer that I ever want to get to one. Glad to hear that no one was hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 whew. Best thing was everyoue got out safely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 My 4 door F-150 Lariat only lost the driver's side window and the passenger's window behind it. There was no debris damage or anything like that to the truck. Apparently it was just wind pressure that shattered the glass! This was common to most of the teacher's cars with some cars losing ALL their glass. So if you ever get the idea that staying in your vehicle during a tornado seems like a safe spot I will have to disagree. On the other hand, being in a big ole school building seems like a very safe spot to me. Every police car, fire engine, ambulance and emergency vehicle in the county was there in no time! The biggest confusion came when frightened parents came to get their kids. I know they were rightfully concerned but nothing spreads fear faster among children than adults acting panicky. One mother came up to me when I was monitoring a hallway full of kids and in a terrified voice says to me, "Can you help me? I need to find Terry, Billy, and Nancy." I wanted to say, "Sure", then give her a slap on the face, but instead I helped her go find these three kids. Humor helps. When the kids were all huddled over in the hall someone, (I can't take credit started singing, "...I like big butts and I cannot lie...". Laughter helps get somethings back in perspective and away from that edge of panic that so quickly comes to kids in tough spots. But mostly I thank God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 glad you're alright.... see ya in the mornin for some Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Whoa! Not something that I care to experience. Glad that everyone got out of it safe. That is most important. Gonna be awhile before you get over that I'm thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonorator Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 so glad to hear everyone is ok ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Glad to hear that everyone's well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 I had very close experince with a tornado and I will tell you that I never want to be anywhere near one of them again. I'm very happy to hear that you guys were all safe. Most school buildings that I have been in are indeed bomb shelters. I would really think that in most cases schools are the best place to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackshi17 Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Glad to hear that everyone is OK. Sounds like you have a school full of kids that will respond very seriously to any future drills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 glad to here everything is ok had one go threw the back forty last year.... quite a sight... watching 40 foot oaks flying threw the air Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Glad to hear that nobody was harmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 I've had to rebuild 60% of a school district before roughly major repairs or from slab up of about 40 buildings. It sucks, particulary now that everyone is scared sh!tless of mold. The worst part was it was a very old district, the architects that designed the building had all died, and the building that housed all the drawings was completely destroyed, so I was having to try to rebuild a district pretty much in a year, with no plans. We had architects and engineers, but they would just come out when we had structural or code questions. It sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Funny tornado story. When my dad was a child he was playing with a disarmed grenade that my grandfather had brought home from WWII. My father and his brothers were not supposed to be playing with it, and one of them accidently threw it up on the roof, where it got caught in the gutter. They were to young to get a ladder and get it out. Since they were not supposed to be playing with it, they didn't tell anyone about it. Well about a week later a tornado comes and literally rips the roof of their house, while they are all huddled up under the kitchen table. Well the grenade landed in someones yard about a mile away, and the pin had come out. Now back in the early 50's the closest bomb squad was about 225 miles away at Fort Hood. They got called in for a disarmed grenade, and my dad and his brothers could not sit down for a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 But no one was hurt and for that I am the most thankful. Glad to hear it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckB Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Whew! Glad noone was hurt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big F'n Dave Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Holy Roller made the news. Glad nobody was hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Holy fasto--very glad that you (and your students) are ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Glad to hear everyone's OK. We were monitoring the weather radar at the office yesterday because we had a meeting in Wright City. The whole radar was red around your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoMan Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Ditto on the glad everyone's OK. HR, your bent-over flagpole (pun intended) is being shown occasionally on CNN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 (edited) Ditto on the glad everyone's OK. HR, your bent-over flagpole (pun intended) is being shown occasionally on CNN. Hope you girls are noticing it's bent but still 20' long. (And don't miss the golden globe on the end). Went up this morning for another walk around. We were lucky. One of my kids was out there with a boo-boo face because his trampoline had vanished. I can only imagine how one of THOSE things would have flown in that wind. Edited September 23, 2006 by The Holy Roller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 Just got a call from our principal. NO SCHOOL TILL WEDNESDAY AND NO ONE FOR ANY REASON IS ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tega Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Holy Roller - Thank God everyone is OK. You all took the right steps. No school 'till Wednesday means you could enjoy all the NFL week 3 games (no work the next day) I'm sure the kids got a kick out of your song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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