After tornado: Survivors still in shock

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The devastating killer tornado that ripped through Edmonton July 31 has left some Native residents of the Evergreen Trailer Park in shock as they try to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

The tornado, which reached speeds of about 332 km per hour ripped through the trailer park leaving at least eight Native families the Anderson, Herons, L'Hirondelles and three separate Ladouceur families homeless.

Eva L'Hirondelle was at home with her 7-year old grandson, Breton, when the tornado unleased its fury.

"The power went out about 3:00 p.m.," said L'Hirondelle who was unaware of the approaching tornado. She "thought it was just a big storm coming in."

The severity of the situation did not hit L'Hirondelle until the tornado actually touched down. As she was making her way to the kitchen it tore in through the living room windows narrowly missing her. She grabbed Breton, throwing him to the kitchen floor, sheltering him with her own body.

"I thought this was it," she explained as she and Breton huddled in a corner. Although the tornado only lasted minutes, "it seemed like hours," she said, "and everything was black."

The deafening noise of the wind "was like a plane was going to land on your roof . . . the noise was deep, loud." She was terrified; so was her grandson, she recalled.

As the tornado passed, daylight returned, and she headed for the door. Outside, where a tidy trailer community had once been , was now nothing but chaos and rubble. Dozens of trailers that had been next door to her had been levelled, leaving nothing more than heaps of broken debris.

"I saw people running all around crying . . . my boy was screaming . . .men and women looking for this guy and they're scared. They were taking bodies to a long building." The words choke in her throat as she tries to control her emotions. For Eva, it was like an unspeakable horror.

"My little boy kept saying 'my daddy's dead'. Then he scared me more." She did not know if the downtown area had been affected.

Other survivors yelled that "they're (the trailers) were going to explode, gas is leaking and that's all you could smell."

"I couldn't stay anymore, not a minute," she said.

The L'Hirondelles were fortunate. Their unit has been spared the full impact of the tornado but the scars remain. Eva and Breton are a bundle of nerves forced to take medication and counselling.

"I don't even look at the newspaper; I don't look at the news on television," she said explaining the trauma she would prefer to forget.

A week and a half went by before the L'Hirondelles were allowed to return to their trailer. It hasn't been easy for them. "Sure you're scared everyday. I don't feel at home," Eva commented.

"I'd rather move (away)," admitted Eva adding her husband feels the same. "It hit him hard too."

Eva mentioned a Metis registered nurse named Clara who also lived at the trailers but was away when the tornado hit. "She's a nervous wreck. I think she's going to sell (her trailer)."

Andy and Jessie Heron's trailer was flattened. Their truck and camper were demolished days after the insurance had expired.

The Herons said they are only getting back $14,000 for their trailer. The amount, said Andy, will not be enough to replace their lost unit.

"I'm upset cause some people with no insurance are getting a new trailer and those with only a little insurance cannot." Andy feels cheated, and his wife Jessie is still in shock.

"My mind hasn't been right since then," said Jessie. "I don't want to even hear or read about it." She does not want to move back either. "Anybody with a mind wouldn't want to," she added.

The Herons are now in a townhouse with only one entrance. Jessie feels nervous and with a quiver in her voice admits, "I'm scared in here too. I sleep in the living room because there's only one door."

She spoke of their losses ? all she managed to salvage were some family photos.

Even now, "we have no dishes or nothing," she claims. "We're eating ou of pie plates."

Volunteer worker Linda Binendyke, who works at the tornado relief centre expressed surprise saying "we've got lots of things for them."

Binendyke explained that they have done everything possible to inform people. "This number's been on every radio station and television station," she said.

When told that some victims are not listening to the media, she said, "that's a very, very good point." It is possible she added that the messages have not been getting through to some because they are not in contact with the relief office or the media.

The Evergreen Trailer Park suffered the most fatalities ? 15 deaths ? when the tornado ripped through Mill Woods, Sherwood Park Freeway, Clareview and the Evergreen Trailer Park.