Tropical Storm Isaac: Sparkman family thankful despite tornado ...

PASCAGOULA -- Her home's roof was lying in the driveway Thursday, but Mary Beth Sparkman still felt like she had plenty for which to be thankful.

First, Sparkman was awake and able to move quickly when a tornado hit her home just off South Pascagoula Street at around 7:15 a.m., thus beginning what proved to be Jackson County's roughest day of damage resulting from Tropical Storm Isaac.

Second, her daughter and son-in-law had decided to stay in Hattiesburg Wednesday night and not stay in the bedroom that took the most direct hit from the winds.

Third, Sparkman's elderly parents, W.T. and Daisy, were in their apartment in the back of the house, which was relatively undamaged.

None of the three were injured despite the catastrophic damage to their home.

But most of all, Sparkman was thankful that her neighbors acted quickly to help out.

"Our neighbors and family and friends were here immediately, and started taking out pictures and valuable and other things," Sparkman said.

"If they had not done that, the rain we got later in the day would have ruined everything. We're so grateful for those who were here that helped. They've been here all afternoon. It's just been amazing."

Sparkman's home is now storm-damaged for the second time since it was built in 2000. It took on four feet of water during Hurricane Katrina seven years ago.

But Thursday morning was a new experience altogether. Sparkman said she was watching television news reports about the storm and talking on the phone when she heard what she thought was a tree crashing into the roof.

"What I actually heard was the roof coming off," Sparkman said. "I started running through the house to the part my parents live in, thinking it was going to be demolished, but it wasn't. Their room was actually pretty intact. They were OK. Then when I went back through, I could see that what I was hearing was my house coming apart."

The tornado in south Pascagoula was one of at least two reported in the area Thursday, when nearly 20 inches of rain fell and communities all over Jackson County were dealing with rising flood waters.

Another tornado hit the Denny's restaurant in St. Martin, but no one was injured there, either.

Mississippi Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, a cousin of the Sparkman family, arrived shortly after the south Pascagoula tornado hit. But he found that several friends and neighbors were already on the scene.

"When I got there, people were already helping them clear out furniture and family mementos and picture albums," Wiggins said. "The people really came out and rallied around them -- enough can't be said about that."

Besides neighbors, Rep. Charles Busby, R-Pascagoula, and numerous passers-by stopped to help, Wiggins said.

"Everybody was pitching in and doing stuff, from kids to elderly people," he said. "This is what this community is all about."

The Sparkmans are staying with other family members nearby while they decide on a plan to rebuild. Sparkman said she grew up on the same block where her home is now, and that her parents have lived in the same neighborhood virtually their entire married lives.

"A house is a house and it's wonderful to have a house, but our health and my parents being safe is the most important thing," Sparkman said.

"My daughter's room in the house -- the roof is totally gone and everything caved in on the bed. She and my son-in-law were originally planning on coming home (Wednesday) night, but the weather was too bad and they decided to stay in Hattiesburg. I'm thankful for that.

"There's just so many things to be thankful for. God really protected us."

(Mississippi Press staff reporter Kaija Wilkinson contributed to this report).

Source: http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/08/tropical_storm_isaac_sparkman.html

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