Tornadoes Hit North Minneapolis

Once again, a tornado has rocked the inner city of Minneapolis. But now it has hit the North side, a predominantly black portion of the town.  It been said that this is the worst tornado they've seen - ever!  Trees are down, garages are demolished, portions of houses are completely missing, and it is reminiscent of a war zone.  I was saddened to hear that a curfew had to be put in effect because of looting and gunfire.

These scenes are are too familiar to me, but the devastation is on a much grander scale.  Hundreds of homes have been damaged as this monster storm took a 3 1/2 mile wide path of terror.  Only one life was lost, but one life is far too many.  That was someone's son, brother, cousin, friend.  My prayers and thoughts go out to his family as well as the hundreds of city folk that call the North side home. 

I have really mixed emotions about this.  I have this burning desire to do something but a perimeter has been establisghed and you can't enter without having i.d. proving that you live there.  While I may not live there now, this is where my roots were laid decades ago.  My dad, uncles, a slew of cousins- all there. Not to mention countless friends. 

All Images from MyFox 9 news

Two hundred people were forced to sleep at the armory, a temporary home for displace families and individuals.  A lot of the properties affected are rentals, so it will take a long time to see progress.  I sincerely hope that landlords and owners of these properties will be decent individuals and take care of their responsibilities to their tenants and not leave them hanging with no where to go.

But even in all of this despair, there have been reports of the true spirit of the North side pride.  Neighbors helping one another.  People doing what they can with what they have.  I'm sure that many stories like this will continue to come forth. 

Please keep the city of North Minneapolis in your prayers as they recover and rebuild.