With nothing but a shovel and a premonition of impending doom, a man undertook a decade-long project that was destined to become a fortress against nature’s fury.
When Jordan Evans took up the shovel and initiated the construction of an underground storm shelter in his hometown of Breman, Kentucky, more than a decade ago, little did he know that his foresight would become a lifesaving decision. Amid periodic tornadoes casting a gloom over the town, Evans made the judicious choice to carve out a safe haven that could shield his family if a tornado ever dared to breach the calmness of their abode.
For a decade, his calculated move seemed to be in vain, with no tornadoes directly striking his property. However, one fateful day, while Evans was away, a monstrous tornado descended upon Breman, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. The silver lining amidst the chaos was the presence of Evans’s son, Gage, who, thanks to the drilled-in emergency protocol, sought refuge in the very storm shelter his father had so painstakingly built.
Evans had willingly dipped into his finances to build this underground fortress that promised safety when the heavens turned treacherous. Absent of a basement or cellar, it was imperative to have a fallback. Collaborating with others, he excavated a shelter ten feet deep and twelve feet wide, spacious enough to harbor his entire family and shield them from the wrath of the tornadoes.
It was under Justin Pointer, Gage’s stepfather, that the household, including the two family dogs, navigated into the secure bunker during the tornado. The fortuitous existence of the shelter, along with the presence of mind of Gage and Justin, prevented the eight family members from being grim additions to the casualty toll of the Kentucky tornado. Post the storm, when they emerged from the underground safety, the spectacle of destruction surrounding them reaffirmed the significance of the shelter constructed years ago.
Recalling the nerve-wracking experience, Justin depicted the intensity of the situation. “It started shaking the lid real bad. We had to hold it down,” he recounted.
The shelter, dormant for over a decade, finally served its purpose during the onslaught of the Kentucky tornado in late 2021. “He said he’d pay a hundred times more for it right now,” voiced Justin, signifying the crucial role it played.
This story of survival underscores the necessity of disaster preparedness and the value of having contingency plans. Evans’s foresight in erecting the storm shelter manifested as the savior during the catastrophic tornado. It is a testament to the adage that it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Your home might be your castle, but an additional shield like a storm shelter could be the knight in shining armor when an emergency unfolds. Evans’s saga imparts a valuable lesson: prepare for the unforeseen.
WATCH the video below:
Source: AWM
