Photo By Sgt. Benjamin Valmoja | Laughlin’s Club XL faced severe flooding after a severe thunderstorm rolled through...... read more read more
Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, was hit with a severe thunderstorm at approximately 3:56 a.m., Oct. 09, 2018, that flooded more than 24 buildings and left the flightline underwater.
Not only did the storm pour more than five inches of rain with winds that reached 72mph, it also brought strong radar indicators of a tornado.
“I was honestly a little scared,” said William McEvoy, 47th Flying Training Wing historian and base resident. “I’m always the guy who tries to go outside to look at thunderstorms, but I knew it was serious when I heard the sirens. During the second siren I wanted to see what was happening outside, so I tried to open the door but I couldn’t. When I realized that it wouldn’t budge I made a bee-line for the closet.”
Many buildings sustained substantial flooding, with standing water leaving workplaces in shambles.
“It was pretty surreal coming into the office and seeing pools of water,” said Senior Airman Kyle Evans, 47th Operations Support Squadron radar airfield and weather systems maintenance technician. “From the front door to the break room there were inches of standing water.”
Response to the damage began as soon as the ‘all-clear’ was given, putting the airfield nearly back on its feet within 24 hours of the storm.
“We take our mission seriously here,” said Col. Todd Dyer, 47th Flying Training Wing vice commander. “In the face of a challenge, we meet it with full force and keep doing what we do best – and it couldn’t be done without the amazing men and women of Laughlin, a true team effort.”
Moving forward, Laughlin’s Airmen are continuing recovery efforts and cleaning up the mess the storm brought.
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2018 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 295986 |
| Location: | LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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