A Quebecer living in Mississippi, where tornadoes killed at least 25 people, is still preparing for difficult weather conditions on the night of Sunday to Monday.
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“When it’s nights with violent thunderstorms and the possibility of a tornado, you never sleep well,” says Jean-Paul Lavallée, who lives about 1:30 to 2 hours from cities affected by tornadoes.
“In the area where I live, it’s more hurricanes than tornadoes. It happens the same, you just have to be careful in the house and stay away from the windows. The sound of tornadoes is like the sound of a train, and I don’t live near a railroad,” he adds.
Although he has not been affected by recent natural disasters, he knows several people who have “lost their homes”.
“Mississippi State is one of the most resilient states. When you have natural disasters like that, already yesterday morning, people were already on their way. I have friends who have lost their homes,” he says.
“When the roof disappears with a tornado and the water enters the house, the property is worth nothing. The winds are strong. They lose everything”, specifies Mr. Lavallée.
The Quebecer wanted to tell a story of “love” that occurred during bad weather.
“I would like to mention the name of one person, Robert Lee, from Silver City. I don’t know him personally. He died protecting his wife by lying on top of it. It’s a love story, but it’s tragic at the same time,” says Mr. Lavallée.
Can we really prepare for a natural disaster?
“The hurricane season (…), you have to be ready all the time, planning ahead. We have to fill our cars with gasoline in case we have to evacuate. We prepare food, candles, battery lamps,” he explains.
Watch the full interview in the video above.