I did not snap this picture. Someone else did. It reveals a tornado that ripped through Dallas in the dark of night Sunday.

No one died in this event. The twister did do a considerable amount of damage as it tore through the northern and eastern parts of the city. My wife and I were hunkered down in our house in Princeton, about 30 or so miles north of where this horror unfolded; our son and his family were a bit closer to the storm in Allen, where the sirens blared during the peak of the storm.

When these events occur fairly close, I am inclined to think occasionally: Which natural disaster is worse?

Earthquake? Hurricane? Volcanic eruption? Tidal wave? Flood? Fire? What about tornado?

Hey, they’re all terrible! They all kill you just as dead!

The tornado certainly did frighten me as it swept across major thoroughfares in Dallas. It damaged vehicles along U.S. 75, a major north-south highway that cuts through the center of Dallas; it hit also along Interstate 635, aka the LBJ Freeway, which runs east-west just north of Dallas.

I am going to assume that it is something of a miracle that no one died in this event. The storm certainly has been reported to have been strong enough, and large enough, to have inflicted that kind of pain. To our great relief, it didn’t.

As you can see here, though, the damage brought by this twister did create plenty of misery and heartbreak. My heart goes out to those who have to pick up the pieces and cobble their lives together.

I am sure I can speak for our neighbors and our family in declaring that these kinds of storms can stay away for a very long time … or for as long as Mother Nature will allow.