Five people are killed and 89 homes and 13 businesses are destroyed when an EF3 tornado hit northwest
Oklahoma just after
midnight on Sunday.
Almost 30 people were sent to the hospital for injuries from the deadly winds that stretched two miles long and about a quarter mile wide.
“Imagine being buried alive,” said new home owner, Michael Thorne. “Your initial reaction is to dig. That’s all I did I just dug. I knew I was close to the closet.”
Thorne moved into his house at 28th Street and Cheyenne Drive about four months ago. Now, he’ll be moving again, this time into his friend’s house.
“I looked up and the roof raised and when the roof raised I raised, then the roof came down and I went down,” said Thorne.
He was in his bedroom just before the storm hit. The roof crashed down on him cutting the back of his head open. He said he didn’t even feel it. All he could do was scramble to safety.
“It scared the crap out of me,” said Thorne. “I am not going to lie to you. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”
He climbed through shingles, sheet rock and glass to get inside the only thing standing, his closet.
“I climbed to the top and sat there until it was over and the cops showed up,” said Thorne.
His neighbor across the street, Kristy Masonhall said her house just disappeared in front of her eyes.
“We were right there in my room and it was over, just the wall is gone the ceiling is gone and somehow we weren’t touched,” said Masonhall.
Her 12-year-old daughter was with her, along with her pregnant sister and her sister’s three-year-old son.
“We were kind of floating around on the bed and I rolled over on top of her (her daughter),” said Masonhall.
The displaced families planned to say with loved living near by.
The Living Word Fellowship Church is a shelter for families who needed a place to stay. It’s located 1310 Oklahoma Avenue.
The Red Cross reported there is not an urgent need for food or clothing.
