disaster

  On April 4th tornadoes touched down in several places around the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Within hours I was on a plane headed to Dallas. As part of a rapid response team, I was sent to make damage assessments to determine if a full deployment would be necessary. Driving around parts of South Dallas, namely Lancaster, we saw heavy damage inflicted on brick structures: something we look for. Below are some of the photos from my first few days in Lancaster.  


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After spending the day in a tornado disaster zone, I was headed to my hotel in Marion, Illinois. As I drove down the interstate at sunset I could see a thick cloud of smoke streaming up from the historic part of town. I had a little extra energy, and I was feeling curious, so I steered my van towards the plume to see what had happened. I've photographed fires from a distance, but never this close before. The fire department was fighting a large house fire, and was struggling to keep it contained. The town's newspaper would later reveal that the fire started in the kitchen, and traveled up the center...


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A dangerous storm system passed through the Midwest on February 29th, 2012. Dubbed the "Leap Year Tornadoes," parts of the Midwest were hit hard. The morning after the storm passed through Harrisburg, IL our disaster team gathered to talk about a possible deployment. The small town in Southern Illinois had six deaths (a death a week later would result in seven), and initial reports were suggesting around 300+ damaged structures. By 3PM I was on a plane headed to Illinois. I arrived 18HRS after the tornado hit. The small community had more resilience, hope, and heart than any I've ever seen...


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