The Night It Happened

March 24th, 2023, was just like every other Friday night for me. I was so relieved it was the end of the week and that the weekend was just around the corner. I also knew it was supposed to storm that day, but I just really didn’t think anything of it. "Nothing bad ever happens to Amory!" Right?

At around 7:00 PM, my family and I started hearing the sirens go off, and after turning on the TV to see what the news was saying, we were on our way to the storm shelter. Amory has had many tornado scares before, and I think that’s why no one (including myself) really took it seriously. When I was in the storm shelter surrounded by my family, I saw my dad look seriously worried. I knew this wasn't like every other tornado scare - there might actually be one this time.

It wasn't long before I heard the wind and the sound of crashing debris. I then realized the worst had happened...

A tornado had touched down.

I was beyond scared that our small town would be left with nothing. I was also scared that my house wouldn't be there when I got home. Around the time the tornado was over, my family and I tried to go to our house and check and see if everything was alright. We couldn’t get there because every which way was blocked by trees and electrical lines. Everyone was in the streets all throughout the night trying to clear the roads with chainsaws and anything they could find to help.

We weren't able to get to our house until the next morning, after the tornado had hit. When we got home, our house was still standing, which I will forever be grateful for. Our power and water were not working, though, and our whole backyard was destroyed. Still, the only thing that mattered was that everyone I loved was safe and okay.

Over the next several weeks, I got to see that this world is still full of good people and can still be a good place to live in. Anything anybody needed, from food to basic necessities, was given to them immediately by our loving town and its people. Everyone (and I mean everyone) has helped in the restoration process of our little town - and is still helping to this day! Our town has been through something so incredibly devastating, and we have lost a lot; but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. This community that we have - I will forever be grateful I get to live in a small town like Amory.