Gone in an Hour: The Tornado in Jacksonville

Last night, at around 8:45 pm, Jacksonville State University, and the surrounding apartments, and houses, were hit by a massive tornado. Ranging at least an F3, possibly an F4 on the Fujita scale, many were lucky to survive. As of yet, only two major injuries, and no deaths, have been reported and confirmed. The devastation started near the Jacksonville Dollar General, north west of the campus, and ended among the houses to the north east of the campus. At the moment the scale of the total damage is still yet unknown, as brave men and women, both city employees and volunteers, search among the wreckage.

Buildings effected include: Numerous homes sustaining a wide variety of damage. Apartments “Gamecock Village” and “The Reserve” sustaining some of the heaviest damage, being declared unsafe to enter by former residents. One Jacksonville City police officer who was on scene late last night described how he assisted personally with the search of all of the buildings and floors in “The Reserve”. “It was truly scary.” He deliberates. “Winn Place III” apartments have been completely demolished, many of whose residents were at home during the event. One man was in bed at the time and closed his eyes for just a moment to awake to seeing the open sky, his building’s roof having been removed by the high winds. A young woman rushed with two of her three pets into the bathtub just in time. After the storm her two story apartment was now only a single story. Soon after, she was assisted by members from “Exile Armory” who were passing by and rerouted to help. They were able to obtain her third pet, safe and sound, from inside her now water logged mattress. “How can so much be gone in under an hour?” she pleads. “Jacksonville Church of Christ” also sustained significant damage, especially to their office building. Allen, the preacher, says that his wife and daughter were there at the time of the storm, but took shelter in the student center of the main building, and were unharmed. The “Dollar General” was also completely destroyed.

Campus buildings “Logan”, “Paterson”, “Huston Cole”, and “The President’s House” having sustained major damage, along with some harm to many other core buildings of campus; such as water damage, broken windows, and roof defiling. “Martin Hall”, and “Merrill Hall” have sustained some of the direst destruction. Inside “Merrill Hall” classrooms now sit silent with light fixtures hanging low, and water pooling on the floor amongst islands of rubble, and in some cases with sunlight shining in through what used to be the ceiling. Many other media outlets are quoting it akin to a “Warzone”, which is very accurate. The swath of damage is near three-fourths of a mile wide, and several miles long. Bill, from Alabama power, was out there this morning surveying much of the damage, and he explained how many of the power company vehicles were collecting in various parking lots to plan their mode of attack to effectively contain the situation, as well as keep the power out in areas where power lines are down. “It’s amazing that this was spring break!” he said, along with many other witnesses. Had many students not been out and away from campus, the casualty count could have been astronomically higher. There has of yet been only one unconfirmed report of a possible death.

First responders and volunteers work constantly to make sure that everyone is accounted for and that things are being cleaned up. Private citizens are showing up from all around, with chainsaws in hand, to remove roadblocks caused by the hundreds of downed trees, many of which were very old trees indeed. If anyone has any interest in volunteering, they should meet at the Jacksonville Community Center, located at 507 Alexandria Road. This will remain open to volunteers until 7 pm today, March 20, 2018. There are also various staging points around the Jacksonville area where a person can gain more information on where to lend a hand, including the Jacksonville Walmart, or any Police officer on duty. Residents are being advised not to enter any of the injured buildings, for fear of collapse, along with the entire school campus being closed, until further notice. The administration is explicit that no one should enter the grounds. Many roads are now being shut down, as well, to help filter emergency vehicle traffic. These roads include part of 204. American Red Cross vehicles are also traveling around to provide support.