Tornado showed how fleeting life can be

Nearly one year has passed since Columbus County’s worst loss of life from a natural disaster struck near Riegelwood on Nov. 16, 2006.

The images from that day will be difficult for anyone to forget. There was the man who saw his neighbors being thrown from their mobile home as the tornado picked it up and carried it spinning over the woods. There were the calls from the first responders on the scene pleading for more help. There was the search for the dead and injured, many of them children preparing for what should have been another routine day at school. There was the shock and awe of the storm’s horrific power as brick homes were swept off their foundations and wooden houses and mobile homes were reduced to splinters.

But then there was the outpouring of concern and support from around the nation. Donations began to come in. Relief groups, some of them from out of state, as well as numerous local volunteers, helped clothe and feed the survivors. Later, when the cameras and state and local officials were gone, many volunteers stayed on for weeks to help people rebuild their homes and try to get their lives together.

The tornado, which was on the ground less than a minute, proved how fleeting life can be.

The Nov. 16 disaster was devastating both physically and emotionally to many, but ceremonies this weekend to commemorate the disaster and to remember those who lost their lives will show that life does go on.

Remembering may be difficult, but the caring and support shown by the hundreds of people who came to the aid of their fellowman cannot be forgotten.

While Nov. 16 will be a time of sadness for many of those affected, it is also comforting to remember all the goodness and compassion that was shown on that dark day.