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Once again, Suffolk was in the crosshairs of a tornado — two at the same time, this time, in fact — and no lives were lost.

It was quite the marvel after the devastating EF-3 tornado that happened on April 28, 2008, in the afternoon. Anyone who remembers how awful the aftermath of that storm looked can attest that it seemed almost miraculous that nobody had perished.

Last year on May 11, a tornado hit a few residences not far from downtown without any casualties. And now again, downtown and several neighborhoods surrounding it — and residences as far away as White Marsh Road — were struck by two tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Isaias. And again — although numerous homes and businesses were damaged and it will take quite some time for many people to rebuild — the most precious, important things are those that cannot be replaced or rebuilt. Once again, no lives were lost.

This can be attributed to many things, depending on your worldview — God’s providence, good fortune, or simply the timely warnings from the great folks at National Weather Service Wakefield and a well-educated populace that knows what to do when they hear that warning. We like to think of it as God’s providence with a heavy dose of good science and good work emanating from Wakefield.

But however you think of it, the fact remains, and we — as a business that also suffered heavy damage to our office — are so grateful for this piece of good news.

And as usual, Suffolk really shows how great it is after disaster strikes. Everyone from the teams of people who showed up early Tuesday to help devastated families rescue their belongings to the hundreds of electric utility workers who came from near and far to help get the lights (and, more importantly, the air conditioning) back on again demonstrated a commitment to their fellow human beings that makes us sit back and take note.

Thank you to all of those who have helped and are helping.