Not all bad things stay bad.
“Along with the other tornado in 2013, this was some of the worst damage I’ve ever seen.,” Ryan Moore, a reporter at the time for WDAM, said of the tornado.
He was out in the elements that night, and followed the storm into Hattiesburg and Petal. And went looking for damage to report behind the storm. Eventually he got trapped for a short time, by falling trees and debris, in a neighborhood on the east side of Hattiesburg.
“That was a challenge just getting to one of the most impacted areas,” Moore said. “I ended up down off Arledge Street when I got the phone call from you, saying I had another one coming.”
I was texting back and forth with Ryan at the time, trying to keep him safe. He got stuck for a short time while another storm – an often forgotten part of that day – rolled through with another round of 60mph wind, fueled by mid-level rotation, and the chance to produce another tornado.
Thankfully it did not. And, honestly, even if it did, there would’ve been no way to tell.
“Driving into where the first one passed through, there was debris everywhere,”
Hattiesburg Mayor, Toby Barker, was still a Representative at the time. He was in Hattiesburg, taking cover as the storm passed through. Once he heard on the WDAM live stream that Richburg Rd had sustained damage, he got in his car.
“I remember the exact path,” Barker said. “All of the lights were out. that’s when I run into a bunch of firetrucks blocking the path. I got the call that a woman was found dead. It was such a surreal experience, because you have an incredible desire to help, but have no idea what to do, you feel helpless.”
On the east side of Hattiesburg and across the Leaf River into Petal was nearly leveled. Many home s and businesses were heavily damage. Power was out.
“There was a certain ferocity to this [tornado],” Barker said. “It tore apart entire neighborhoods. There will be some neighbors that will be forever altered from this event.”
Ryan Moore was in one of those neighborhoods.
“One of the most eerie things, right after it passed, was that it was completely quiet,” Moore said. “All you could see was lightning in the distance. all you could hear was gas lines screeching and people screaming for help.”
Moore took pictures, and grabbed video to report on the disaster. It was his job. But he also stopped frequently to help those in need.
“As one of the women that was carried out from one of the destroyed houses,” Moore said. “I was right there. One of the women that was pulled from a house that was destroyed needed an ambulance. So we moved some power poles and trees for her.”
If there is one thing I’ve learned from the folks of South Mississippi it is that every cloud has a silver lining. And every cloud that doesn’t, well, these people are here to help you during and after the storm.
When the sun rose…
Many folks started their day picking up the pieces of their own home, or a neighbors home, before even grabbing a morning coffee.
“When I arrived where the twister had cut through our city I saw people all everywhere taking survey of the damage, Petal Mayor Tony Ducker said. “House after house with damage, and neighbor helping neighbor. While the damage was great, you realize it could have been so much worse.”
The EF-3 tornado, with winds of 145mph, cut a path across the Lamar County, Hattiesburg. And then continued into Petal, and on to Perry County.. It killed four people. It injured more than 50. And tore through more than 1,000 separate homes.
Ducker, who wasn’t the Mayor of Petal at the time but was serving as an Alderman, was certain his city would recover.
But recovering from a tornado like that – only a few years after a separate tornado went through the same two cities – was not going to be easy.
“I was there when they recovered nearly all the victims,” Moore said. “There were a lot of folks that said they really didn’t think it would happen [again]. And unfortunately, recently, Hattiesburg has come all too familiar with tornadoes.”
As a meteorologist, seeing radar shots like the two below are heart-breaking. It is sad to write this, but, you assume the worst.
Especially when you factor in the time of day. Most people were asleep. A lot of people got the warning. Some did not. And for some it was too late. A few got the warning, and did the right thing, but it didn’t matter. When an EF-3 tears through a home, sometimes there isn’t enough home left to save a life.
“Like most folks I was sound asleep until my phone’s weather warning went off.” Mayor Ducker said “[The storm] did knock us down. But in Petal’s DNA is a persistence that has us in a great position”
As an observer of Pine Belt folks for about three years at that point, I never doubted the people of Petal would rebound. There are towns of some pretty resilient folks in South Mississippi. Petal is toward the top of that list. Columbia, Purvis, and Waynesboro are up there too. Soso, Bassfield, and New Augusta. And nearly all of Covington County. The list goes on. Hattiesburg, Laurel. Leakesville!
I think resiliency is in the water. Chemically, in the universe, water is H20. In the Pine Belt there is an “R” in there somewhere, too.
Because after the storm, people from all across the area showed up – both physically and monetarily – to help.
“If the last five years taught us anything,” Barker said. “It is that when the community comes together, it can do anything.”
Rebuilding, coming back stronger
Love thy neighbor is often quoted, but rarely followed to the word like it is in South Mississippi.
The communities all across the area came together to help.
“It was four or five days straight of people showing up and serving their fellow man,” Barker said. “It is always inspiring to see that.”
R3SM, Recover, Rebuild, Restore Mississippi, was one of the big players in helping to get many people back on their feet in Hattiesburg after the 2017 tornado.
“I am so extremely thankful to have been a part of rebuilding our community,” Mavis Creagh, the executive director of R3SM said. “And [also] giving back by providing economic development overall.”
The short list of donations to R3SM, according to Creagh, included The Greater Pine Belt Community Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Presbytery of Mississippi, UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief), Mississippi United Methodist Conference, Lutheran Disaster Service ,The Presbytery of Mississippi, Breakthrough Community Services, World Renew (Christian Reformed Church), Trinity Episcopal Church, Main Street UMC, Heritage UMC, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pearl River Valley Opportunity, Marion County Churches in Action, Purple Heart Homes, Home Depot Foundation and other local and national non-profits/churches to assist with Financial Support for Recovery Efforts.
It wasn’t just R3SM and the numerous community groups listed above. At WDAM, a telethon raised more than 300,000 dollars.
On top of all of that, a lot of the recovery effort was done by regular folks. Just showing up, like they’ve been taught every Sunday, to help those in need.
It was a long process for many. But after five years, Creagh said the community feels new.
“The neighborhoods are growing and thriving,” Creagh said. “I think about the area behind East Hardy Street (Putnam Street, Klondyke) I looked from the corner one day and got out of my vehicle and there were about 7 new houses built all in a block radius that you could see. It is amazing to help families but also to rebuild whole communities in the process.”
One of the homes discussed in the report above, shown below, is now in a neighborhood with fewer trees, but one that feels whole again.
Creagh mentioned that R3SM is going to start a rebuild of the final home the organization set out to finish from Day 1. She listed more than 100 Households assisted since the tornado, 28 new constructions or rebuilds, with a majority of those Households in underserved and/or rural communities.
An unreal set of numbers. And a testament to the spirit of the folks across South Mississippi.
But things aren’t done. In Hattiesburg, Barker said the city is still working to repair Timberton Park and replace a fire station.
“The infrastructure and grants that came as a result of this event are setting up the east side of Hattiesburg for growth,” Barker said. “William Carey continues to grow since then, too. And winning the arbitration over the fire station, means a new police station and fire station on that side of town.”
For as bad as things get, they are always ready to step up and help those in need. Because when things are bad, they don’t have to stay bad. Things can and will get better.
“We are going to get it done,” Barker said. “We are not going to fail. We refuse to fail.”
