Tornado or not??

So, last night a tornado or something came ripping through downtown Atlanta.

We were out for dinner with friends at the Depot on Memorial and had just finished our meal when the power started flashing on and off and debris started raining from the ceiling. People started running in from outside, but there was no sense of panic in the restaurant, just confusion. M thought that it might be an earthquake, W had seen the tornado warning flash on the TV 5 minutes earlier, and I frankly was just annoyed by all the dirt falling on me! (that might have been because of the lack of sleep, but that is another story) A was the one with her head on and started telling us to get under the table. Pretty soon it was like an elementary school drill, with everyone in the restaurant crouched under the tables.

In a few minutes the storm had passed, but the power was gone. Looking out the windows, we could see debris everywhere, awnings askew on the condo porches next door, and pieces of siding and roofing everywhere. Worried about our pets and homes, we found our waiter and scrounged around to find enough cash to pay for our meal. We then ventured outside.

In order to get outside, M had to jimmy the revolving door open. As we were walking to A's car, M & W moved a piece of corrugated metal siding from the middle of the parking lot. Looking ahead, we saw the tree that we had backed around to park, uprooted and flat on the ground. We climbed around the branches of the tree to get to the car and see if there was any damage. Surprisingly, the tree had landed perfectly in the middle of the lot, not damaging a single car. A's car was fine, the only sign of the storm being her front license plate which had bent in half and was sticking out perpendicular to the front of her car. We were able to drive around the tree and out of the lot. Driving through Cabbagetown and Inman Park was like a ghost town, the power was out everywhere and only a few cars were on the road. As we approached L5P, we saw that the power was still on in the area and around our loft there was minimal damage. A & W dropped us off and we went up to our place to find two startled, but otherwise ok kitties.

A & W called us when they arrived home, they said there were a number of trees down, but their place was ok.

While, as of right now, there have been only minor injuries and no deaths, other places did not fair so well. The bulk of the storm struck downtown Atlanta, blowing out windows in the CNN Center, the OMNI Hotel and freaking out the thousands of people that were in the GA Dome watching the SEC Tourney. The Fulton Cotton Mill lofts also have had significant damage. As far as I know, our old place (a block from the GA Dome) is fine.

For more info check out the AJC or go to youtube where there are a number of videos. M & I decided that we will not be heading over to gawk this morning, we just don't need to get into the mess. Sitting in our place the only damage I can see is a random tree limb stuck in the top of another tree and two still rather flighty kitties. We'll be headed over to the lot today to see if by some miracle the house has come tumbling down.