My Life On Quotes: Horror In The Heartland

" What does not destroy me, makes me stronger."

- Friedrich wilhelm Nietzsche

"Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you and be happy!"

- Anne Frank

Photo by Reed Timmer

It's not supposed to happen here. Things like this are seen on TV, not in our own back yard. These are just a couple thoughts that ran through my head on June 16th, 2014 after tornadoes decimated Pilger, NE and the surrounding communities of Stanton, Wisner, and Wakefield. Not just one tornado, or two, or three, or even four...but five. Five tornadoes from the same supercell, with two (possibly three) on the ground at the same time. 4 of the 5 tornadoes were rated EF4s. Although we are right in the middle of "Tornado Alley", tornadoes have been a rare sight for this small area of Nebraska, and it's even rarer to have multiple, violent tornadoes at the same time IN this area.

Two tornadoes straddle Hwy 275 a mile East of Pilger

I have lived in Northeast Nebraska all of my life, and so have my parents. I have never seen a tornado personally, nor had my mother (who has also lived here all her life). Until June 16th. Let me recap the day's events.

First off, I have not always been fascinated by storms. In fact, I was quite afraid of them when I was younger. However, over the last few years my interest in storms and tornadoes has grown. I started following the weather more closely and have been going "chasing" the last few springs/summers when I can (around my full-time job). *Disclaimer: I am not a professional storm chaser nor do I claim to be.*

June 16th, 2014 started out as another hot/humid summer day with a chance of pretty severe storms for Northeast Nebraska. I kept an eye on the weather as often as I could throughout the day, hoping they would hold off long enough until I was able to get off work. The first (and really only main storm) fired mid-afternoon as I was heading to my last appointment at 3pm. By 3:45pm I was told there was a tornado on the ground by Stanton. The appointment ended at 4pm and I headed home to change clothes. Called up a friend who met up with me and we headed East on Hwy 275, all the while talking to my mom on the phone as she watched one tornado move across the skyline and soon a second one joined it. We drove about 10 miles and came across the first sight of debris at the intersection of Hwy 275 and Hwy 57. Power poles and lines were down (drove over lines across the road) and what was left of a car was in the ditch. This is bad. We kept driving, passing the intersection of Hwy 275 and Hwy 15 (to Pilger), still trying to catch up to the tornado. You see, that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to see the tornado. We didn't expect to see what we did. A few miles passed the intersection, my friend looked back and said "The town's gone!" I didn't believe him at first, but then I looked back myself. Excitement turned to horror. Oh my God...

We drove North on Hwy 15 for a few miles and realized there was no need to keep chasing the storm. We wouldn't catch it even if we kept going. We knew we had to head to Pilger to see if anyone needed help. We are both trained in CPR and First Aid, so we could possibly be of assistance.

We turned around and headed the few miles back South and West and came upon a horrifying sight. A town that I know so well...that I have family members in...that house adults and kids that I know personally....decimated beyond belief. When someone compares a tornado-destroyed town to a "war zone"? Yep. That's exactly what it looked like.

It's hard to even say what was going through my head as we stood in the middle of the debris. A town ripped apart in a matter of minutes. It was surreal. I didn't know where to go. I didn't know what to do, so I did the only thing I knew how to do: document. I started snapping photos. Not to capitalize on others' misfortunes, but to document the situation. My mind went blank in disbelief at the sight of the destroyed town. It's one thing to see tornado destruction on TV, but it's a whole other sight to see in person. It's literally stomach-turning and heart-wrenching.

A group of people were checking debris for possible trapped victims, but thankfully there was no one trapped. We started walking and talked to a couple families and heard their stories. One stood out to me. The below pictures are what was left of her house:

A mother and her children took shelter in the basement of this house, under the mattress seen in the above picture. They all walked away unharmed. Hearing their story and seeing the house first hand was unbelievable. But that wasn't the only thing that struck me. A few minutes one of her sons comes up to the mother crying and so upset because he couldn't find his dog. His mother consoles him by telling him she will find him. Tears were starting to fill my eyes. I do hope they can find their dog.

We slowly start making our way farther into town and we come across a house that was literally shifted 15-20 feet off of its foundation. We also spoke to the gentleman who lived in the house and heard his harrowing story of riding out the tornado in his basement with his baby, strapped into his car seat. The father believed his baby would have been sucked out if he hadn't been strapped into the car seat. I can't even imagine.

It was shortly after this conversation that the town was being evacuated due to a gas leak and we headed home. There was nothing more we could do, as we were still filled with so many thoughts and emotions from that short time spent inside Pilger. That evening and the next day I started texting all of my high school bowlers (I coach the Wisner-Pilger High School bowling teams) who I knew lived in town and asked if they were alright. I found out that two bowlers who lived in Pilger lost their homes and one bowler who lived North of Wisner also lost her home. Soon more bad news came out: 2 fatalities, including a 5-year old girl. Oh no. My heart sank even more.

The devastation wasn't just isolated to Pilger. There was damage and destruction from Stanton to Wakefield. It was unimaginable. But what followed in the coming days was even more unbelievable. People flocked from all over the United States to volunteer in the clean-up efforts of Pilger and the surrounding areas. Fundraisers were organized and businesses opened their hearts and doors to those affected by the tornadoes. Supplies and donations starting flowing in. 1800 people volunteered in Pilger on June 18th and thousands more on June 21st. Bret Michaels (lead singer of Poison) even came to Pilger on June 23rd to help with the relief efforts. It has truly been amazing to see the turnout.

Bret Michaels helps Pilger clean-up efforts on June 23rd.

I have been unable to physically volunteer in Pilger, but have been trying to keep everyone updated online with the current relief efforts and information. I'm also in the process of compiling a list of all official pages/websites/drop-off sites, so that it can be shared for easy access. If you happen to read this blog and know of any official donation or drop-off sites, please email me at kristagiese@gmail.com with the information.

My heart is in Pilger, even if my body is physically not.