GLENALLEN, Mo. – Karen Sutton and Victor Hammack of Glenallen sought shelter in their bathtub when a tornado tore through their Missouri community early Wednesday morning.
Sutton said she and Hammack were startled awake by a weather alert shortly after 3 a.m. CDT. Not long after, the tornado made its presence known.
“We heard what sounded like roller coasters,” Sutton said.
Sutton, Hammack and their family then took shelter in a bathtub as the tornado roared and ripped through their community.
5 KILLED AFTER NOCTURNAL TORNADO SLICES THROUGH SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI
Daylight revealed the extent of the damage – trees snapped like toothpicks, vehicles crushed by debris and homes lost.
According to Hammack, two of their vehicles were trapped under a large pile of debris, which they could free with help from a community member.
Despite the devastation and loss, the people of Glenallen are reaching out to one another to provide help.
“They’re all really coming together,” Sutton said. “Everybody around was making sure everybody was okay – going house to house, making sure everybody’s okay and everybody safe, giving them water.”
“Now we’re just going to help everybody out as much as we can and, hopefully, get all the damages repaired as we go along,” she added.
Glenallen was one of the hardest-hit areas by the tornado. The National Weather Service found what appears to be high-end EF-2 tornado damage around Glenallen, with estimated peak winds at 130 mph.
At least five people have died from the storm, all of whom came from Glenallen, according to Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E.