But…I was at work in Windsor, CO and our building took the brunt of the storm! We were warned about 10 minutes before it hit, so everyone was in safe zones. When the tornado hit our building, the 3-story concrete structure shook like an earthquake, and many of the suspended ceiling tiles and lights fell out of place. My lungs felt like I was suffocating (really frightening!) for about 10-15 seconds, the electricity went off, and the air in our safe zone filled with thick dust (they quickly passed out manatory dust masks), and there was suddenly a horrible sewage stench, as if the water had been sucked out of the traps in the floor drains, toilets, etc.
After about 30 minutes, we were allowed to go outside, where we saw the very strange damage done. Most of the ~250 vehicles in the parking lots had two or more windows broken out. My van had two windows missing, with glass scattered throughout the vehicle.
The windshield had 4-5 different impact cracks, but I was able to drive it home. Two vehicles were on their tops, one on its side, a pickup on top of a motorcycle, and many cars jumbled around. The brand new flag poles were bent, one at a 45° angle! About ten 40-50 ft pine trees were uprooted and tossed aside, like plucked dandelions. Many of the building windows were blown out. You get the idea. After awhile the authorities said that we were required to go back inside to our safe zones, as there were still tornadoes in the area, and all of the roads were closed anyway. Over two hours later, we were asked to go home very carefully. I got home safely, and helped the family get supper on with no electricity (Coleman stove on the deck, lanterns, etc.) We borrowed a 5000W generator from friends who had power, and plugged in our freezer full of meat and garage 'fridge, with all our perishables. So you see, we were very blessed and helped by an Unseen Hand throughout this ordeal.
Our building at Carestream Health Colorado, where we make XRAY film, color paper, color display film, and inkjet paper and film sustained very severe damage. I have no idea when we will be allowed to go back to work, or what we will be doing when we do return. This could have a significant impact on the availability of these materials worldwide. As far as the managers knew, standing in our safe zones yesterday, we will be paid in full, for which we are very grateful.
After about 30 minutes, we were allowed to go outside, where we saw the very strange damage done. Most of the ~250 vehicles in the parking lots had two or more windows broken out. My van had two windows missing, with glass scattered throughout the vehicle.
The windshield had 4-5 different impact cracks, but I was able to drive it home. Two vehicles were on their tops, one on its side, a pickup on top of a motorcycle, and many cars jumbled around. The brand new flag poles were bent, one at a 45° angle! About ten 40-50 ft pine trees were uprooted and tossed aside, like plucked dandelions. Many of the building windows were blown out. You get the idea. After awhile the authorities said that we were required to go back inside to our safe zones, as there were still tornadoes in the area, and all of the roads were closed anyway. Over two hours later, we were asked to go home very carefully. I got home safely, and helped the family get supper on with no electricity (Coleman stove on the deck, lanterns, etc.) We borrowed a 5000W generator from friends who had power, and plugged in our freezer full of meat and garage 'fridge, with all our perishables. So you see, we were very blessed and helped by an Unseen Hand throughout this ordeal.Our building at Carestream Health Colorado, where we make XRAY film, color paper, color display film, and inkjet paper and film sustained very severe damage. I have no idea when we will be allowed to go back to work, or what we will be doing when we do return. This could have a significant impact on the availability of these materials worldwide. As far as the managers knew, standing in our safe zones yesterday, we will be paid in full, for which we are very grateful.
