Rowlett Tornado

Today's post is a bit of a somber one. 2 days ago, December 26, my hometown of Rowlett, TX was hit with a tornado that destroyed (as of now) 148 homes completely and left over 854 homes with some kind of damage. Thankfully, my families houses and neighborhoods were not hit and remain completely undamaged, but there are a lot of families who have lost everything and have been displaced. 

The city manager gave an update this morning with what has been assessed so far:

"As you know, Rowlett was hit by a large tornado on Saturday, December 26. The National Weather Service has classified the tornado as an EF3. Based on assessments made by ground personnel, damage is significant and our hearts go out to our residents who have been hit.

We continue to report only 23 injuries and no fatalities.

At this point, we have assessed 1,000 homes in Rowlett with 854 impacted, damage is as follows:
• 220 Affected
• 298 Minor
• 188 Major
• 148 homes have been totally destroyed.

At this point, assessments indicate 43 businesses were impacted:
• 38 Minor
• 5 Major
• 23 have currently ceased operations.

As of this morning, about 4,900 homes were still without power. Oncor has teams in Rowlett working on restoring power and are receiving additional resources now."

There are several places that have opened to receive donations. Here is the list I am aware of as of now:

Red Cross Assistance Center: C3 Church – 3700 Chaha, 972-412-4420 

Life Message – 4501 Rowlett Road, 877-518-1000 

First Christian Church Rowlett – 7301 Miller Road, 972-475-3559 (Also offering hot meals around the clock.) 

The Tide mobile laundry truck, which offers residents a way to do laundry (Will be onsite beginning Tuesday, December 29) 

First United Methodist Church – 4405 Main Street, 972-475-3667 (no longer accepting clothes but are asking for gift cards or other monetary donations. Donations can be made on their website here)

First Baptist Church – 4309 Main Street, 972-475-3510 

Cornerstone Church - 8200 Schrade, 214-384-2249 

Lakepointe Church – 701 E. IH30, Rockwall, 469-698-2200

We were VERY fortunate to not have any fatalities in Saturday night's tornado but there are still families who did suffer a lot. The more I scroll through posts on Go Fund Me and Facebook the more I see old friends from high school or further back who were majorly impacted. If you know anyone in the area or may be able to help those in this area, I know they would greatly appreciate it.

Click here or the picture to get assistance if you are one who needs it or to volunteer or donate.