People described the fear and horror they experienced as at least 50 tornadoes swept through the southern and central United States, hitting eight states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Winds cut power lines, ripped off rooftops, and in some cases destroyed entire settlements. There are fears that more than 100 people have died, with at least 80 in Kentucky, according to state and local officials.
Here are some stories of those who survived:
Kiana Parsons-Perez barely panicked when a strong wind toppled the building she was in and pinned her to the ground under a pile of heavy debris. Parsons-Perez is one of many workers trapped under the rubble of a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, after being hit by a tornado late Friday night.
The horror began when Kiana felt the wind even though she was inside the building. She recalls how the lights blinked and her ears flapped, and a few seconds later the building collapsed around her.
“Like a tower of cards”
“It happened so fast. We were all just rocking back and forth, and then boom, everything fell on us. It was like someone took a piece of the building and the ceiling collapsed on us,” she said. Parsons-Perez was buried with his legs clamped. Colleagues surrounded her, some cried for help, others just prayed. When she stopped feeling her toes, she got worried and started streaming live on Facebook.
In the video, Kiana says, “I don’t know who is watching, please send us help. We are trapped, the wall has trapped me. Nobody can reach us, pray for us. Try to call us for help. In the end, she was saved and shared: “After I got out of there, I had no choice but to thank God. This is the only thing that saved me. ”
“I knew there was more tornado coming”
Jeffrey Weir was home alone in Bay, Arkansas, watching local news and watching the storm on his iPad when the power went out. When he went outside to see what the weather was like, lightning struck and Weir was shocked to see a tornado. He grew up in the Cove and was used to storms, but had never seen anything like it.
“It was only the first line of storms. I knew there would be more,” he said. Seeing the tornado, he became even more worried, because there was no way to check the direction of the tornado. During the storm, he hugged his dog and waited for his friends to call and inform him of the disaster route. A few hours later, when the sun rose, Weir was able to see the destruction caused by the tornado in Truman, a city about 8 km away.
The houses were torn down, the roofs were taken down. Debris is scattered across every field and road. “It was heartbreaking to see the destruction and loss of life in the area,” he said. “My heart hurts for those who lost their homes, especially just before Christmas.”
“The whole city is destroyed”
The residents of Mayfield, home to the candle factory described by Kiana Parsons-Perez, are one of the most devastated communities. Stephen Adler says the tornado “cut through the very heart of Mayfield.”
Once it was a picturesque city square, now it has disappeared, only fragments of what was once the soul of the city remain. “Every historic building we have stands on the ground, churches that have existed for hundreds of years have been demolished. It’s like a war zone or a movie, ”Adler said.
“It will never look the same. An entire city has been wiped out,” he added.
And while Christmas may not look the same as last year, the spirit of the holidays will remain in the gratitude and love that will reunite the small town of Mayfield. “It’s not about the gifts under the tree, but about the fact that we can be together,” says Stephen Edler.