Fifty-one years after an F5 tornado flattened huge swaths of Lubbock, the city has finally put up a shiny new memorial downtown. At the dedication ceremony, families of the 26 people killed in the 1970 storm were honored, with flowers handed out by the mayor and city council — because nothing says “sorry for your lifelong trauma” like a bouquet and a plaque half a century late.
The tornado was one of the nastiest ever recorded: two twisters, 8.5 miles of destruction, 1.5 miles wide, grapefruit-sized hail, and more than 1,500 people injured. Damage was estimated at $250 million at the time (a cool $1.7 billion today). Most of the devastation ripped through Northeast Lubbock, where families scrambled for survivors in what became a grim community scavenger hunt.
Texas Tech got a wind research institute out of the deal, because apparently you can only convince people tornadoes are worth studying after they’ve leveled half a city. Meanwhile, the new memorial — a 20-foot wall with inscribed quotes and victim names, plus a fountain mimicking storm sounds — is meant to be both solemn and symbolic. Nothing says “healing” like being reminded of roaring winds every time you visit.
Corporate sponsors like United Supermarkets and Lubbock National Bank were thanked for helping raise $4.5 million for the project. Because in Lubbock, even a natural disaster memorial doubles as a donor appreciation wall.
Fifty-one years later, Lubbock gets a place to “rest, reflect, and remember.” At this rate, expect a COVID memorial around 2075.
