Friday, October 08, 2004

i'm finally getting a chance to post some of the pictures from the hailstorm on tuesday...
it was crazy... really really crazy. tech campus actually got hit harder than the rest of the town. the largest stones were about as big baseballs, and most of them were much larger than golf balls. it only came down for about fifteen minutes, but the damage is gone! almost every roof in town needs work. all the trees are stripped of their leaves and most of their small branches. three people got caught outside in the storm and had to be rushed to the hospital. one got hit in the head, there are pictures of him in the internet bleeding, with a concussion. every windsheild is smashed, and every car has pock marks all over it. some even have holes in the body. now they're all covered in tarps and plastic bags. the glass companies are really going to make a killing.
the storm was incredible to watch. the hail was coming down so fast that it sent dirt and grass flying up where it hit the ground and terra cotta tiles falling where it hit the roof. the velocity was unbelievable. adam told me that after the storm passed, his new roommate josh (who is quite a bit more athletic than the average techie) picked up one of the stones and threw it as hard as he could at his truck- not a scratch. that means they were coming down a lot faster than that, and i really don't think that josh is a weakling.
mike had just parked my car under a tree before the hail came down, and he actually got hit in the back with one of the stones on the way inside. he's okay, but poor jules is very beat up. the tree didn't protect her, it just covered her in dents and foilage. my back windsheild had three good-sized holes in it when the storm passed, and my front windsheild is destroyed too.
but she's not the worst. all the cars parked by south hall got really hammered. mike's truck is very beat up also. he lost a mirror and a headlight. the golf course is pretty jacked, as you can see.
honestly, these pictures don't do the storm justice. going outside is depressing because there is SO much damage. all the buildings have barriers around them so people won't get too close and get hit by falling peices of the roof. a lot of tech's buildings have skylights- or used to have skylights, i should say. there's broken glass everywhere. for more pictures, check out our "official" natural disaster site.


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