Hello all,

Now that some time has passed since the horrific tornado that swept through Dallas on the night of October 20, I wanted to share my personal experience, what I learned, and what I want you, my clients, and friends, to take away from the incident. I consider it a true miracle that no one was seriously injured or killed, and I want to thank every one of you that reached out regarding the loss of our beloved home on Orchid Lane.

The evening of Sunday, October 20 started out like most of our Sunday nights do with three of our five children over at the house enjoying a family dinner. We were watching the Cowboys game but did decide to break out the flashlights when we heard that a big storm was coming. This was a casual action done out of habit versus any real concern for our safety if I am being honest. At around 9 pm, my daughter decided to go to her room to watch television and my youngest son left to head back to his house. In retrospect, it is a good thing he did this as he currently has the only car that survived the tornado that night.

At around 9:10 pm, however, everything changed as I could literally feel the air being sucked out of our home. I rushed to get my daughter, son, and his girlfriend and directed them towards the wine cellar. As they sprinted to get to this seemingly safe place, I witnessed the greenhouses glass roof above them begin to rain glass. 

Now for the protection of myself and my husband who is currently on a walker because of a recent back surgery. I situated him in the corner of our kitchen that was protected by walls and cabinets. And as for me? For whatever reason, I had the instinct to go to the two glass doors on the side of the home and hold them closed with my legs. All I could hear was wind so loud it made my head hurt and the back of our home being sucked out. Huge glass panes flying.

The shaking and the sound were so great for what felt like five minutes, and I buried my head in the rug. When it was all said and done, I was covered with glass from head to toe but amazingly didn’t suffer even one scratch anywhere. The first thing I remember after it was “over” was my children screaming up from the wine cellar. They said they were sure we were dead. 

We all knew the next task was to get out of the house as quickly as possible and that is exactly what we did despite there being mountains of trees everywhere, roofs lying torn apart, rogue insulation and wires dangling about, and the worst of all—two transformers had fallen on our greenhouse.

To this day, I still have no idea how we got out or how my youngest son was about to penetrate the area and take us out of the carnage on Orchid Lane. Yes, we might have lost our home and three cars that night, but all things considered, I am left feeling blessed.

I certainly do not plan to experience another tornado any time soon (or hopefully ever), but there are a few takeaways that I wanted to pass along to my friends and clients. 

 

Always have a flashlight ready to go and easily accessible

Keep your mobile phone charged

Have gas in your car

Keep thick soled shoes handy and put them on immediately before the storm hits.

And perhaps most importantly:

Check on your neighbors! That horrible night involved an outpouring of love from neighbors up and down our street ensuring that everyone was okay.

If you are anything like me, you also can’t help but wonder what kind of an impact this tornado will have on the Preston Hollow real estate market going forward. After all, there are streets like mine with multiple homes decimated and now without the lovely trees that took decades to grow. I would guess that the majority of the people will rebuild, however, as you well know that will take years. Rest assured that Preston Hollow will still be known for its beautiful streets and large lots and those of us that value the aesthetic beauty that trees bring will bring in new ones.

This situation has taught me that everything is replaceable, after all, except for friends and family. And that is something that miraculously no one in Preston Hollow has to deal with the loss of after this once in a lifetime EF-3 tornado. And for that, I can’t help but to feel so, so thankful despite it all.

Thank you for checking in and do not be a stranger should I be able to help with your real estate needs as we approach the busy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Christy

Christy BerryOctober 30, 2019