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Subject: [TXBOWIE-L] Disastrous DeKalb tornado top local news story of 1999
Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000 05:57:26 EST

Disastrous DeKalb tornado top local news story of 1999

By GREG BISCHOF/Gazette Staff

DeKALB, Texas-To those who saw the atmospheric phenomena on May 4 swirling
through DeKalb, it looked like everything from a black-green blob to rolling,
boiling chocolate.

To those who heard it, it sounded like everything from a low-flying jet to a
monster growling.

But no matter what the impression, few DeKalb residents are likely to forget
where they were and what they were doing when a tornado barreled through the
city's downtown, twisting and demolishing nearly everything in its path
shortly after 3 p.m. that balmy spring afternoon.

Even though the twister had no discernible funnel cloud, its winds, which
averaged at least 185 mph, took out two full blocks in the city's commercial
zone and all but leveled the town's high school and elementary school as more
than 300 students crouched in the hallways.

As the winds subsided and the whirl of debris settled amid the rubble of
bricks and broken glass left in the twister's wake, residents discovered that
fate was kind in that no one was killed.

Officials attribute that to about 40 minutes of warning through the public
safety sirens.

The real damage was financial as officials calculated storm costs at nearly
$1 million.

During the days, weeks and months following the storm, streams of emergency
personnel and volunteers descended upon the city almost as heavily as the
storm had.

These countless volunteers, many of whom will always remain nameless owing to
the urgency of the moment, helped build both temporary and permanent shelter
for those who lost their homes.

Seven months have passed since the tornado tore through this western Bowie
County town of just under 2,500 people, and the town is still slowly but
steadily pulling itself back together and healing its scars.

Many homes and businesses are still under construction but are gradually
improving in appearance while the city continues to work on damaged water and
sewer lines.

High school and elementary school students are attending classes in portable
buildings while construction is under way at the original campus site.

Although there is still a need for volunteer labor to rebuild as well as a
deeper need for money to buy construction materials, residents have remained
optimistic through it all with seldom a day going by without someone,
somewhere in DeKalb hammering nails in a board or painting a new wall.

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