Storm Survival

Did you know? We had a confirmed tornado in Flower Mound, within a mile of our home. One tree in our backyard snapped in half, but found the ground smoothly. While we were in the bathroom hiding from the storm, a large old tree in our neighbor's yard snapped at the ground. It fell on a new fence that was installed less than 24 hours earlier. It fell on the deck of the neighbor, the corner of their roof, a smaller tree (still standing), and came to rest on the corner of our roof. The house is empty while they are preparing to lease, and we met with one of the owners at lunch today. We will wait for their insurance company before making a move. Removing any tree from our roof could result in further falling and damage. However, our roof seems OK, but we will wait until the tree is removed before making a final judgment.

We feel very blessed. A senior adult couple that we attend church with was asleep this morning when their house was struck by lightening (we had more storms throughout the night). They live about 300 yards away from our house. Apparently someone was driving by the house and saw the smoke. They knocked on the front door until our friends woke up and evacuated the house. The fire department arrived, put out the fire, and boarded up the roof with plywood and tarps.

This is the tree that snapped in half in the backyard. We had AWESOME helpers from our church arrive with a chainsaw to help us cut up the tree in the pouring rain!This is a view of the neighbor's large tree resting on our house. This photo was take in our backyard, and that is our home on the right.

Here is a photo of the tree from the other side. You cannot see our house in the photo, but don't worry, it is under the tree!