Assessing Auntie M’s Tornado Damage

In my last post, I shared about the tornado that hit my hometown of Lena IL less than 2 hours after I arrived in the area. Auntie M’s house had some damage from the tornado. Minor compared to some, but damaged nonetheless. The yard was a chaotic mess…Her yard was a maze of fallen trees, tangled limbs and branches, broken glass from blown out windows, a bent in half screen door that was ripped off the hinges, and debris that may or may not have been hers. A huge tree on one side of the house was yanked up by the roots and tossed into the yard. Thankfully, it missed both Auntie M’s house and her neighbor’s house, landing across the neighbor’s backyard. On the other side of the house, another huge tree (also pulled up by the roots) took out the back wall of a storage shed. A wayward branch pierced the side of her house leaving a minor hole in the siding. There was also damage to the roof, gutters, and downspouts from high winds and balls of hail. The trees and branches were cleared away…