We had family in northern Indiana at the time of the Palm Sunday
tornadoes, 1965. Part of that storm was a double funnel, and the damage
was eerily evident for many years afterward. There were loads of
stories in the papers...2x4's driven through tree trunks, kids pulled
from the arms of their parents, etc. Weird stuff, like a bottle of
aspiring turned to powder inside a medicine cabinet but no damage to the
structure. One large subdivision was small homes all built on slabs,
which we toured a couple of weeks after the storm. It is really an
awful sight. Can probably still see the path in places where trees were
mowed down, just like seeing a path mown through tall grass in the lawn.

During one of our mandatory evacs in '05 for hurricanes, we were still
potentially in the path of the eye, so there was no thought in my mind
about staying at home. My hubby would not leave, so I went to a motel
with a girlfriend. Went back home to pick up more important stuff, and,
hopefully, my hubby. He still would not leave, so my "stuff" really did
not matter any more ) A twenty-foot storm surge would put about 5
feet of water in my upstairs neighbor's condo...when I go, I don't want
it to be from drowning or being crushed by part of a building.

My city is still building right up to the sandy beach...totally insane.
I was raised in Chicago and there are miles and miles of waterfront
that are open and scenic. Florida is a dump. I'm tempted to pray for
tarballs to wash up on our beach...I'd be glad to go out and help clean
up and enjoy being able to get out of the neighborhood on a weekend
without tourist traffic )