It’s been a year since the Tallahassee tornadoes downed trees and damaged structures on May 10, 2024.
Residents of Tallahassee’s hard hit Indianhead Acres community shared their experiences on our live edition of Speaking Of.
“It was raining hard and the wind was blowing harder and harder, and suddenly it was on us,” says Gordon Magill. “It was like being in the midst of a white out snow storm. You couldn’t see anything.”
An EF-2 tornado was changing the neighborhood.
“Wind and water and trees were beautifully going horizontal. It was like a dream,” says Linda Marie Cossa. She heard sounds like gunshots, which were trees snapping.
“Going outside was a shock,” Magill says. “We’ve been in Indianhead for about six years and we’ve seen some hurricane damage, including from Michael (in 2018). But I have never seen damage and treefall like that day on May 10. You didn’t recognize anybody’s home or the streets.”
Magill and Cossa held a cookout with neighbors in a nearby park that night to eat food that would have spoiled in the extended power outage. They also organized an event months later for the community surrounding trauma management and recovery.
“We had a trauma therapist come and talk with us,” Cossa says. “We told stories and we comforted each other.”
Sarah O’Neil and her partner were displaced by the tornado when the Indianhead home they were renting was damaged to the point of being uninhabitable.
“I’m definitely dealing with PTSD. When the wind blows, I get nervous,” O’Neil says. “Anytime there’s any mention of a tornado possibility, I’m in the bathroom.”
Magill and Cossa wrote poems to process their experiences. Cossa even managed to glue her favorite clay pot, which was shattered by a falling tree, back together.
Hear more of their experiences during the tornadoes on Speaking Of. Click LISTEN above to hear the entire segment.
