December 26, 2015

• EF-4 rating (EF-3 in Rowlett)

• Max winds of 170-180mph

• Max width of 550 yards

• Path length of 13 miles

• 10 fatalities and dozens of injuries (1 fatality and 25 injuries requiring EMS transport in Rowlett)

Just three months before the tornado, I ran my department directors through a tornado tabletop exercise with scenario impacts very similar to what occurred on 12-26-15. The image above shows the exercise tornado path, which some say was "eerily close" to what happened.

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I use this experience as an example of why it is critical to participate in exercises. Unfortunately, this was not the last time I have been accused of "predicting" a disaster, because I had similar experiences with the COVID-19 and Winter Storm "Uri" events. 

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WFAA story on this exercise

Despite significant law enforcement presence and limited looting incidents, concerns over looting resulted in many residents taking matters into their own hands. Many posted threatening warning signs (e.g., "STAY OUT! WILL SHOOT!"), some created "looter jails," and some organized into a group known as the "Looter Booters." This required us to shift our response and recovery efforts, especially after unaffiliated volunteers performing debris clean up work began to be accused of looting.  

This event taught me the importance of addressing pet issues after a disaster. I put this to use after a large apartment fire in August 2023. Many evacuated without their pets, especially cats, when the fire alarms activated. While the overall building was not deemed safe for residents, I was able to organize fire and police personnel to reenter the building to rescue pets. I personally rescued a pet snake and a cat. While rescuing that scared cat was one of the most exhausting single tasks I've performed as an emergency manager, the joy the owner experienced after being reunited with her only "family member" made the ordeal worth it. 

I knew many of those impacted by the tornado. In fact, I answered several 911 calls in the EOC that came from persons I knew who were trapped in their destroyed homes. The picture above shows a taxi. Just weeks prior to the tornado, I helped the taxi driver's wife with a flat tire. It is often necessary to disassociate oneself from a disaster to ensure you have the emotional capacity to perform your duty. While that is easy for me to do, I always force myself to remember that disaster victims must be treated under the Golden Rule. For that reason, I often go out of my way to make personal contacts with victims and ensure that they are helped to the extent possible. 

With over 300k cubic yards of debris generated by the tornado, a significant amount of resources were needed to perform debris management. In addition to its own resources, the City used contracted and mutual aid resources for this work. It was the response of PWERT members that drove me to give back by becoming the PWERT Vice Chair. While this position often takes me away from my job, I could never repay the amount of assistance PWERT provided after the tornado. 

A long term recovery group, Rebuild Rowlett, was created after the tornado to help provide resources to impacted residents and businesses. I would later use this experience to create the Rowlett Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD), which was used to help residents and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and several disasters since then. 

The tornado left a large scar on Rowlett. More than 1,300 homes were damaged with nearly 300 destroyed and over 200 suffering major damage. It took years for most to recover and some did not. In fact, there are still empty lots where homes used to be. The scale of this single event and the lessons I learned will be with me for the rest of my life. My hope as an emergency manager is that this never again happens to a community I serve; however, I know that I am ready to effectively respond if it does.