The Natural Disaster of 2018-2019 Graduation

By Zach Kersh

On May 30th, 2019, a tornado ripped through our Howard County, devastating families due to the destruction and blockage of roads, homes, and more. That day, the same as Glenelg’s graduation, was supposed to be an uplifting and memorable experience. Unfortunately, now it will mostly be simply memorable.

The tornado was a major inconvenience for people out at the time. Many were unable to return to their homes due to the roads being closed. Anthony Decamillo, a sophomore at Mount Saint Joseph High School, lives in the Glenelg area. Decamillo says, “It was insanely irritating. We were getting lunch and by the time we drove home, there were signs saying the road was blocked. We couldn’t get to our neighborhood from the other side too.” Similarly to Decamillo, people were left dumbfounded as to what to do next.

In addition to the damaged and blocked roads, homes were left destroyed. Some resembled ruins more than homes as a result of detached windows, battered basketball hoops, and naked roofs. One of the more impacted neighborhoods was Roxbury Lake Drive. Glenelg Sophomore Chris Borkowski lives there and was home during the catastrophe. Borkowski says, “I got pretty lucky since there were only a few trees down in my yard. Others were less fortunate because there were trees all around their houses. There were windows in pools, recycling bins hundreds of feet from their houses, and slides now in front of houses.” With all the devastation, the severity of the situation scared many people. Not only were their possessions decimated, but many struggled to remain calm during the depredation of the tornado.

People were mentally impacted as a result of the storm. In conjunction with hostile rain, rapid winds, and thundering sounds, the event was not one to be taken lightly. Glenelg Sophomore Alyssa Kelly was caught driving home when it all took place. Kelly explained, “Everything was fine, then all of a sudden we saw a huge blue light start flashing. Trees and power lines were flying all around us. We didn’t know if we were going to survive because it was so scary.” Emergency Medical Services Authority explains that before a tornado, “the wind may die down and the air may become very still.” This makes the tornado seems even scarier, since when it begins it will seem like an abrupt occurrence. The tornado had such an impact on the people that were affected, that some were scared for their lives.

In addition to Kelly, Glenelg Sophomore Niko Garbis says, “I knew everything would be alright, but my dog did not. She was quivering in the corner of the bathroom. She must have been whimpering for half of an hour.” The extremity of the situation made many highly strung and immensely concerned regarding what would have to come next. Whether it was living elsewhere for a short period, paying lots of money for cleanup, or having to take longer routes for transportation, the aftermath has not be looked forward to.

Through the trauma, various people, and communities came together to aid in cleanup and safety. “I was impressed by how quick they cleaned up the trees and debris. It seemed like the trees blocking the road were gone in only a few hours,” Borkowski says. “I saw so many people walking around in my neighborhood. They were asking if we were alright, checking if anyone needed help, and coming together to cleanup backyards.” With this example of community resilience, it shows not only how effective working together can be, but how the Glenelg community represents this ideology,

The tornado caused mass hysteria on the same day as senior graduation. What started in the morning as one of the most impactful days of the new adults’ lives quickly took a turn for the worse. Glenelg Senior Jasmine Daniel comments, “I haven’t really thought about graduation since the tornado.” Fortunately for the seniors, they managed to stay strong during the desolation. “I’ll probably associate the tornado with graduation in the future. But it’s not in a negative way, it just happened to happen on the same day,” Daniel added. Though her neighborhood was in a state of complete destruction, Daniel, and many others, managed to stay positive during such a miserable time.

Mount Hebron High School’s graduation ceremony took place during the storm. They were forced to take shelter and wait for the storm to pass. Nonetheless, they patiently prevailed and finished the year in dramatic fashion. What started as a regular graduation ceremony became an eventful day for the graduates and their families.

The tornado and graduation will surely make March 30th one of the most eventful days of the summer of 2019. With all the blizzards, heat waves, natural disasters, and other environmental sensations, we can surely expect there to be more situations like these. However, with such a united community, we have no doubt the Glenelg community will come together to blow away any obstacle. We hope everyone remained safe during and after the disaster.