Double Creek Estates

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A small subdivision infamous for being the site of total destruction in 1997. It has since been rebuilt.

Double Creek Estates was a subdivision of newer, sturdy frame houses to the northwest of Jarrell. During the May 27, 1997 tornado, this neighborhood was struck directly and essentially wiped from the map by the mile-wide F-5 tornado advancing from the north/northeast at less than 10 mph.

Even though the Double Creek houses were new and well-constructed, they were mostly mounted on flat concrete slab foundations without basements due to a shallow layer of hard bedrock under the soil; only one homeowner in Double Creek (having barely escaped death in a trailer during the 1989 Jarrell tornado) had taken the considerable trouble to dig out an underground storm shelter. His wife and child ended up being two of the only survivors.

Considering these combined factors, the result was nothing short of catastrophic, a true worst-case scenario for tornado survival. When exposed to the F5 winds of the slow moving monster twister, the houses were simply pushed off their slabs, hoisted aloft and torn into millions of tiny pieces in the 250 mph wind...with their occupants sheltering inside in bathrooms and interior closets, thinking their above-ground shelter places would save them. One woman sheltering in a bathtub was lucky enough to be miraculously thrown hundreds of yards to safety as her house disintegrated around her. Most weren't so lucky.

38 homes occupied this development. 0 remained after the tornado, with the majority having been ripped entirely to small pieces, leaving only a bare swept slab to mark the loss. 27 people were killed, with several instances of entire families being killed together in their homes (including the 5-member Igo family whose leveled property was donated by relatives and became the grounds for the Jarrell Memorial Park).

The cause of death for most of the victims was tactfully listed by the county coroner as "multiple trauma", although the truth was obviously far more grisly and difficult to explain to next of kin. Human and animal body parts reportedly littered the area for miles, creating an unbearable stench of decay. Police were forced to close off the entire area as a biohazard zone for weeks (angering some residents unable to return to their homes) as cadaver dogs worked to find human body parts buried throughout the wreckage. What a nightmare.

Moral of the story: sheltering in a well-built house won't save you from a gruesome death at the hands of The Finger of God, the F5, a lesson recently re-learned by the unfortunate residents of Greensburg, KS who suffered a similarly devastating loss of life from an EF5 tornado that most had no ability to shelter properly against. Only a true underground storm shelter will protect you from a tornado 100% of the time. Apparently there is now a booming business in storm shelter installation in Jarrell, with over two dozen being installed since 1997.