My son and daughter-in-law live in the small town where a tornado touched down today. Fortunately they were safely away in Lafayette when the tragedy occurred. Meggan's family and many of her extended family also live in the area, but after a few phone calls we were able to determine that they are all safe. Although they still have no electricity, they suffered little damage from the twister. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the town. One lady was killed and 11 others injured. If you're interested in reading more about the town and seeing additional photos, you can go to this article from The Advertiser: http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20110305/NEWS01/110305004/BREAKING-NEWS-Rayne-recovery-efforts-ramp-up-in-tornado-s-wake.
The photo above is from The Advertiser website. I'm sure that Meggan's sister, Elise, will have many more photos on her blog, so I'll try to get the web address and post it as well. She's a wonderful photographer and seems to really enjoy taking pictures at family gatherings. In fact, I'm pretty sure she always has her camera with her when we've been together.
The town is already beginning the cleanup process. The National Guard drove in this afternoon to help keep peace and order because many of the businesses had damage. I'm fairly certain that their arrival is just a precautionary measure to make certain that no looting or other unlawful activity occurs. I haven't heard from Rory or Meggan what arrangements have been made for those whose homes were lost, but I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers tonight. I'll also say a prayer of gratitude that our children and grandchildren were spared. We plan to visit tomorrow after mass to check on everyone and to offer our help.
So glad to hear that your family is okay in Rayne. That storm must have went close to here and then built up and hit Rayne. It was windy. I was watching out the window and wondering if we were just going to a little wind or whether is was going to get more serious.
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