I am compelled to write a "Them-Them" that both deeply saddens me and makes me extraordinarily proud.
This has been an extremely tornadic weather season and the last couple of weeks have been more than a little terrifying for us in the Midwest.
Wednesday, June 4th an EF2 tornado hit Ceresco, Nebraska. (Ceresco is between Lincoln and Omaha). My three step-sons live there in a farmhouse with their mother and luckily made it to the basement on time. The town was shut down and without power for several days as significant damage had occurred. Blessedly there were no serious injuries or deaths. My step-sons are still staying in Omaha since a large tree fell on their house and apparently is not habitable at this time.
Sunday, June 8th at approximately 2:15am, two tornadoes hit Omaha. The weather service did not even know the tornadoes had hit since they didn't show up in their radar scan for another 10-15 minutes after touching ground (the details and time frames on this event have been changed several times since Sunday as the weather service has had time to do their reports). Amazingly nobody was seriously hurt or killed. Massive clean up efforts have ensued and many volunteers have made their time and resources available.
Unfortunately, last night (Wednesday, June 11th) a group of Boy Scouts camping in Little Sioux, Iowa were not that lucky. Approximately 93 Boy Scouts, ranging in age from 13 - 18 and 25 staff members were there for a leadership conference. They had arrived Sunday. The boys traveled from Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. My general understanding of events from various news reports and interviews is as follows:
- The Scout camp is an 1,800 acre park. There were very few buildings on the camp and no basements. The two storm shelters on site were not designed to protect from tornadoes.
- The boys were watching the lightening and saw the funnel cloud forming. They ran to their admin building, sounded their siren and rounded up as many boys as possible into one of the other buildings. Some boys were out on hikes and bunkered down as best they could on the trails.
- The ones that made it to the building huddled underneath the tables, as many of them that could fit. There was a large stone fireplace near the center of the room that went from floor to ceiling and apparently toppled on some of the boys, killing four of them.
- The tornado was either an EF2 or a weak EF3. All that is left of the building is the foundation.
The victims have been identified as:
- Josh Fennen, 13, of Omaha
- Sam Thomsen, 13, of Omaha
- Ben Petrzilka, 14, of Omaha
- Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, IA
My heart is weeping for the families who so needlessly lost a child and to the boys who survived. The unimaginable terror they experienced will never leave them.
The stories of heroism are just beginning to get reported. These are the ones who deserve a "Them-Them"; I wish I had more details and names but it is still so early:
- The leader who saw the funnel cloud and relocated a sick child from the admin building to the main building for better protection
- The 10 year old who grabbed his best friend from his troop (from West Point, NE) and pulled him under the table for safety
- The boys who managed to break free after the storm to rescue the ranger and his family who were trapped in their home
- The hundreds of volunteers from all across the area who rushed to the campsite with tools and supplies as soon as they heard the news, despite the fact that most of the area was still in a tornado warning with serious threats of tornadoes all around the area
- The Salvation Army & Red Cross for being there so fast with so much help and for their continued assistance after the immediate danger has passed.
I am confident that there are hundreds of additional heroic efforts from this incident and the many other recent weather-related incidents that deserve a "Them-Them". The entire area has experienced massive flooding and damage from storms, in Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. The Midwest folk in general have a strong sense of community and a strong work ethic and will work together to support each other and rebuild wherever necessary.
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