Grimes County still feeling the impact from last week’s storms.
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 and EF2 tornado touched down during last week’s storms.
The Stratton family said their house is a total loss after a tornado came through Navasota on Thursday.
“The tornado hit us, and we felt it on our ears. It really hurt, and I guess the tree just fell down, and we heard that, and a branch came across, hit the back window,” said Fredrick Stratton.
The family said they were pulling into their drive way when the tornado hit their home. A few of them were already inside and took cover. The others were trying to run in.
“I could still see the wind blowing and the trees going by the windows when they came in,” said Darrell Stratton.
He said he piled his family into a space under the stairs as his house started coming apart.
Half of their roof was ripped off during the storm, and that’s when the water started coming in.
“As it started coming into the bedroom close to the hall, we started moving to the kitchen,” said Stratton. “I didn’t know if we were going to have to get outside in the rain or what.”
Stratton said emergency crews had to help cut trees out of the way in order for them to get to safety.
Grimes County Emergency Management tells News 3 they had 31 water rescues during the storms, but no injuries were reported.
Now, it’s just the beginning for many as they work to clean up the storm’s mess.
“It’s going to be months and months to cut all the trees and clear it. Next step is to try to get a temporary pole up,” said Stratton. “We’re going to look for some type of mobile home or something we can rent for a period of time on the property while we look at a location to rebuild.”
By Brooke Wellborn |
Posted: Mon 10:38 PM, May 30, 2016 |
Updated: Mon 10:40 PM, May 30, 2016
