By: Caitlyn Bayne
4/17/23
On Friday, March 31rst a tornado went across Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Delaware and Alabama. The tornado first started at 9:33 PM, taking down trees, power poles, damaged farm outbuildings, and several homes got damaged. The tornado got up to 115 MPH winds, with a max width of 400 yards. The tornado was very bad and scary but the tornado helped in ways that could change how these different states look and work in the future.
One of the many tractors that flipped from the tornado.
Even people who weren’t near the tornado still got affected, but many people still prepared just in case. Like Dorothy Hamilton, a sixth grader her at Ejhs, When I asked her how her family had/has prepared for the tornado she said, “We didn’t prepare as much as we did last time but when the tornado in 2018 we covered the windows, and brought a matrise down.” Dorothy’s house doesn’t have a basement so if the tornado would get close enough she and her family would go to her nabors house which does have a basement. Going into a basement when there is a tornado is the best way to stay safe during a tornado because basements are underground and the tornado only goes on top of land. If you don’t have a basement, then it is best to go into a bathroom or closet that doesn’t have windows, or is on the second floor if you have one.
This is one of the many houses on concord that got hit by the tornado.
A lot of people and places are trying to make their areas better for if there is another tornado. Most places are improving the power lines and making houses better for people to live in and hide in so that they will be safe during tornadoes. For some people that means rebuilding their entire house. Like one house on concord, the tornado went straight through the house destroying it and everything around it. Even those who didn’t get anything damaged were still really scared. Like Adrianna Minnick, a sixth grader her at Ejhs, when I asked her about how she felt when the tornado hit she said, “ it scared me a lot,we heard the sirens and then the power went out, making my little sister,Sierra Minnick, scream and run around the house like crazy.” She also said, “We don’t have anywhere that is really safe in our house so all we did was stand in the hallway making me and my siblings a lot more scared.”
In the end, tornados are a part of where we live and what happens in the weather. We can’t control when the winds go different ways creating the tornado. Even though we can’t control when there is a tornado, we can control how we can stay safe. You Should always be in a safe place like a basement or room down stairs with no windows. Just know that that tornadoes can be very scary but you should always be okay in the end because staying in a safe place is always the way to be safe.
The trees down on County Line.
Contributor Bio:
Caitlyn Bayne is a 11 year old girl in 6th grade who loves to write articles and sleep in her free time. Even though she loves to write articles she also loves to do art and spend time with her family. She plays the trumpet in a brass band with some of her friends.