REBUILDING THEIR LIVES - TORNADO SURVIVORS USE LESSONS LEARNED FROM TWISTER

  • Published
  • By Tim Barela
  • Torch Magazine
PRATTVILLE, Ala. --  Retired Chief Master Sgt. Wayne Glover and his wife Ilah lost nearly everything when a tornado ripped through their town of Prattville, Ala., last year, turning their home into a pile of rubble.

The only room spared in their house was the bathroom they had helplessly huddled in with their two dogs and a cat Feb. 17, 2008. Everything else around them either disappeared, as if swallowed up by the storm, or was damaged beyond repair. Their house, their vehicles, their Harley Davidson motorcycle, their boat, their furniture, their bushes and flowers, their jewelry, their photos and too many other irreplaceable items fell victim to the twister and 150 mph winds.

Torch Magazine did a feature on them in the March/April 2008 issue. A year later, the Glovers are still rebuilding their lives. On Jan. 29, just shy of a year after the storm demolished their home, their new house was completed.

"We decided to build on the same spot, because you never hear of a tornado hitting the exact same spot twice," Wayne said. "Plus, location, location, location ... it's where all our friends are; it's near all the stores that we shop at; it's home."

"But if we do get hit again, we're not rebuilding here," chimed in Ilah, who until her retirement Jan. 3 worked as the secretary to the commander of Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., just 15 miles southwest of their home.

When they had their house reconstructed, they did so with the fresh memory of that EF-3 twister that damaged some 900 homes and businesses, injured 50 people and left a devastating trail of destruction in its wake.

They had the walls and framing of their new home reinforced by having them anchored into the foundation.

"It's designed to withstand higher forces," Wayne said. "Survivability would be somewhat higher. But there's only so much you can do if you take a direct hit."

Their new home is just over 2,000 square feet, just like their old one. But for Ilah, one of the benefits of rebuilding is she got her dream kitchen with a double oven.

Living in southern Alabama since 1991, the Glovers had experienced more than a few tornado warnings with zero incidents until that fateful day. And they've endured many since. There was even a day in April when 14 tornados touched down in areas surrounding their town.

"I wouldn't say we're scared," Ilah said. "But we're more cautious now."

The couple added that in severe weather warnings, people should stay alert, listen to the radio, and heed warnings.

"If they say to take cover," Wayne said, "then you should take cover. Weather is just too unpredictable."