Sometimes, it takes a disaster to remind us just how united we are.
On April 13, residents of Alto and outlying areas were in the path of what the National Weather Service survey teams described in preliminary conclusions as three separate tornadoes with EF-2 and EF-3 ratings that touched down in Cherokee County.
Photos on social media and from news media reports showed how badly devastated the area was, ranging from felled trees and ruined buildings, to total obliteration of the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site’s museum (renovated and opened to the public in late 2015) and a Caddo grass house that was constructed in 2016 by volunteers, under the guidance of two Caddo tribe members from Oklahoma.
A fatality was reported as a result of one of the tornadoes, an unexpected outcome after a woman who was at Caddo Mounds when the first tornado struck, was taken to a local hospital and later died. Approximately 20 people were injured, five severely.
For miles around, the degree of devastation was heart-rending. While modern technology allows us to see the weather systems that create tornadoes, it cannot predict where they will touch down. But west of Alto, at the Cherokee-Houston County line along the Neches River, that path was clearly evident: The EF-3 twister touched ground almost immediately entering Cherokee County, working its way up Texas Highway 21, past Caddo Mounds and the community of Weeping Mary, to continue wreaking its destructive forces on Dominy Dairy.
Then the tornado seemed to bounce, snapping and overturning trees every so often, until it got closer to Alto, where it unleashed its full fury once again.
It's impossible to not choke up, thinking about what's happened, much less from seeing images of that destruction, knowing so much was lost, knowing that life as we know it can change in a split second.
But it's also impossible to ignore the outpouring of love that has been exponentially greater than the tragedy left in the tornado's wake.
Neighborly love was witnessed from across the country, calling to mind Christ's mandate, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
Heavily relying on social media, people not only checked in with each other but shared messages offering help and prayers, sharing information about where to find or contribute supplies, sharing information about where to find shelter.
Outsiders stood in solidarity with Alto residents, trucking in supplies and food from Houston and Arkansas, as well as from places closer to home, like Wells, Jacksonville, Rusk and Lufkin. Daily, messages shared on Facebook accounts tell of businesses both small (the Taco Man food truck of Jacksonville) and large (Tyson Foods and Pepperidge Farms) providing food; of volunteers helping distribute supplies to residents in need.
Meanwhile, area students donned Yellowjacket Mean Sting colors of black and gold as a show of unity for fellow students from Alto ISD, whose school buildings were deemed unsafe for use until further notice. Those out-of-town students, along with their administrators, faculty and families, offered prayers and hosted drives so they could provide food, beverages and school supplies for the beleaguered southern Cherokee County community.
And local financial institution BancorpSouth has established a fund for residents in need.
As Alto residents go about the business of piecing their lives back together, they’re being embraced by a wider community who stands with them as they show God's love in action, taking to heart the message of “Love thy neighbor.”
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