When the unthinkable happened -- a tornado in downtown in Salt Lake City -- Utahns responded with characteristic calm and resourcefulness. Taking a moment to get their wits about them, they inquired, simply, "How can we help?"
Some visible reminders of the fury unleashed on Utah's capital city re-main -- uprooted trees, broken windshields, shattered windows and damaged roofs. Remarkably, less than 24 hours after the violent storm, Salt Lake City was back to business as usual. Credit an extraordinary re-sponse by professionals and volunteers, alike.Emergency crews responded immediately, sifting through rubble in search of victims, tending to the in-jured and preparing others for transport to hospitals. By nightfall, all had been accounted for. Less than two hours after the storm cut a northeasterly swath across the city, city and state crews, utility workers and volunteers were at work putting Salt Lake City back in order.
Hospitals handled the emergency with skilled precision. LDS Hospital, in the path of the tornado, had the added challenges of a temporary power outage -- although backup generators kicked in -- and debris-littered streets that snarled access to the hospital. Despite that, the hospital treated 18 victims, six of them trauma patients.
Hardest hit by the tornado was a temporary tent city erected for the Outdoor Retailers Summer Market, Utah's largest convention. The tornado struck just as retailers were setting up their booths, causing one of the two giant tents to explode from the tornado's pressure. In the spirit of cooperation, exhibitors in the Salt Palace agreed to share it with competitors whose displays were destroyed by the twister. The show went on, albeit a day later than scheduled.
The Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau worked long hours to find hotel accommodations for people displaced from the wind-blasted Wynd-ham Hotel.
In residential neighborhoods where more than 300 homes were damaged, neighbors helped neighbors. Few people stayed in a disaster shelter because friends and families opened their homes to people whose homes had been deemed uninhabitable.
Downtown malls and business closed by 5 p.m., cooperating with an evacuation order by Mayor Deedee Corradini.
The Delta Center sustained considerable damage to its roof and windowed exterior. By the end of the business day, a decision had been made to move the Utah Starzz's re-maining two games to the Dee Events Center in Ogden. Almost immediately, glaziers were dispatched to re-place shattered window panes.
All the while, the Red Cross worked diligently to connect concerned people calling from out of state to conventioneers and exhibitors. Gratefully, there was largely good news to report. Just one person was killed and 81 others injured, few critically.
Construction projects in the path of the tornado, namely the LDS Church Assembly Hall, were blasted by the high winds, but, remarkably, few injuries resulted.
Had the twister that cut a path across Salt Lake City shifted a block or two in either direction, the outcome could have been markedly different. The community, was indeed, fortunate.
So, on this proverbial morning after, Salt Lake City is down but not out. Utahns have a deeper appreciation that mere mortals are no match for the wrath of a tornado. Yet, there is comfort in the knowledge that Utah resolve will overcome its devastation.