Nothing Like A Tornado To Eat A Parking Lot

As some of my friends know, I had looked at purchasing a van for quite some time.  I wanted the van not only for my own personal use such as carting my crap to the flea market to sell and camping, but to also be able to chuck my Dad's scooter in the back so he could go to places and do things that he otherwise would not do.

And as I mentioned previously, I was told that if I wanted to see "crazy" I needed to go see the back parking lot.  Sadly, this parking lot is where my van is parked.

The gentleman wasn't kidding.  This was where the brunt of the tornado hit the apartment complex I live in.

This is the view out the window of where I exit the building to the back parking lot.  You can see the light pole and tree off to the left.  This is the area where I park my van.

The new view from out the same window.  There's a big spider web crack in the upper left from where the awning broke off and hit it.  This same awning hit the window of the apartment to the right of this door and took it out.  You can also see the downed tree in the upper part of the window.

This is the van I mentioned previously and I was very happy to have found it.  Especially since it had been garaged and well cared for.  I was looking forward to putting many miles on this van.  Please note the pristine line of the drip rail above the passenger door.

Now see what it looks like after they cut the tree away.  It bent enough of that corner that I can't replace the windshield.

The Jeep next to my van protected it from getting more damaged than what you can see.  The tree itself fell through the center of the Jeep.  A branch from the tree fell on my van.

This was my first view of the parking lot from the left of the doorway of the pictures above.  The tree in the background to the left is what ate my van.

My first view of my van.  At this point I could not see the damage and was considering myself damn lucky.  Until I walked around back.  Please note the now missing light pole that used to be directly behind my van.

I had been doing okay emotionally until I saw this.  This put everything in perspective and was when I realized I was not going to see my Dad for Father's Day and most likely not his birthday either.  The Jeep owner had just gotten done painting it a few weeks before this.

A really good view of where the branch hit my van, breaking the passenger side window and pinching the top of the door into the frame.

Great view of the now completely cracked windshield that I can't replace until I get the body straightened and repaired enough that one will set down in the valley and seal tightly.

Relatively speaking, my van has it made compared to the Jeep that was eaten by that tree.  It's still no consolation to the extent of roof damage that has also pinched down on the passenger side door.  I was pleasantly surprised that the side view mirror was unscathed.  It was brand new as I had replaced the broken one a few weeks earlier.

This is the door that exits to the parking lot where I took the first 2 pictures.  You can see what's left of the awning to the left and the broken window to the apartment above it.  The open area to the right was where I was standing when I got my first full view of where my van was.  I had to climb around a tree(you can see it cut up) that had fallen and blocked the sidewalk leading to the doorway and the ramp on the right. 

The view of a collapsed building on Union Street.  I was standing about 20 feet to the left of my van to take this.  The tornado went through that building.

The light pole that used to be behind my van had decided to visit this Volvo and so did the tree.  The damage was worse than what you can see in the picture and as you can imagine it's totaled.

This skylight was ripped off the roof of the 2 story brick in the background.  I live in the building to the left of it.  The Saab was untouched.

Saving the best for last.  These guys are going to be busy for weeks as the tornado traveled quite a distance.

The last of the tree being cut away.  Out of the many trees on the entire complex there are about 5 left.  The building in the background in front of my van(this is looking west) has been seen in many videos on the news as the 2nd and 3rd floors in the front of the building(Main Street side) are gone.  The first floor of the building(also Main Street side) was being refurbished to house a medical and dental clinic for low income people.

I used to see nothing but trees and shade from my big picture windows but now all I see is sky and the other apartments.  I moved to this side of the building because of the trees and the squirrels that now have no homes.  I used to love watching them build their nests in the trees while preparing for winter, but the nests were destroyed when the trees were blown down.

So now I wait.  I put in a claim to the insurance company but only had liability.  This was to be my ride to Washington State and my Dad.  Now I'm not sure what is going to happen.

*Edit:  I will have to pay for the repairs to my van.  Since it was a natural disaster and my van is operational the apartment manager said I don't have to get the repairs done right away.  I was honest in telling her it's going to be at least months before I have the money to do that.  It's not easy to save up money to cover emergencies when trying to live on disability.