(See update, below.)
Think of it as a virtual lost-and-found. A Facebook page, "Pictures and Documents found after the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes," has photos of hundreds of personal items that were carried off by the deadly tornadoes that swept across the South on Wednesday. Many of the family photos, letters and official documents, were found dozens of miles from where the tornadoes passed.
The Facebook page, which is "liked" by 45,813 contains images of 528 items -- with several new images being added every hour.
"These are parts of people's lives falling out of the sky," Patty Bullion told CNN. Bullion created the page as a way to help victims of the tornadoes get back at least some parts of their lives following the devastation that caused over 200 deaths in Alabama alone. Bullion's house in northern Alabama is about 1o miles from the tornadoes path. She decided to start the page when "it literally just started raining pictures."
The owner of the picture on the right has been tentatively identified and plans are being made to return it.
The downside of social media sites such as Facebook have received a lot of attention. But, they also serve as platforms for innovative ideas that, as in this case, can help bring at least a small measure of needed order to events as chaotic as a tornado.
Update: In response to this article, Patty Bullion sent me e-mail saying that the owner of the photo above has been identified and Bullion is making plans to return it. The Website now contains information on 1,322 items.
Tornado Photos
