Family Home on Brink of Collapse after Likely Tornado
By: Rebecca Jeffrey
Updated: January 30, 2013
"Just thankful that me and the kids are okay, this can all be replaced," Tami Porter said standing outside her home in Elkins.
Porter was home with her 4-year-olds Tuesday afternoon watching the tornado warnings on TV.
"All of a sudden the dogs starting barking, going crazy and the wind picked up to where it was ridiculous," Porter said.
She grabbed her twins, put them in the laundry room and closed all the doors in her house.
"By the time I got in the laundry room you could just hear shattering of glass everywhere, big loud booms."
Twenty minutes later, her neighbor was at her door.
"He come running across my yard, banging on the door to make sure, he knew that me and the kids were home by ourselves, making sure we were okay and we survived it but he was the one who actually told me how bad it really was."
The windows were shattered, the garage caving in and the house dubbed unsafe by Elkins Police.
"They're still saying for us not to go back in the house, cause at any point in time, it can collapse," Porter said.
The 13 years of memories her family shared in the home are forever changed.
"Everytime you hear that there's a tornado warning you kind of, eh, you know it's not gonna hit us, but after this, we'll take it a lot more serious."
The American Red Cross, Arkansas Department of Environmental Management and inmates from the Washington County Jail on work release all lent a helping hand in the continuous clean up.
Elkins Police Chief Bill Rhodes said because of the storm damaged homes in the area, they've bumped up patrols and are asking that if neighbors see anything suspicious to call police.
Porter was home with her 4-year-olds Tuesday afternoon watching the tornado warnings on TV.
"All of a sudden the dogs starting barking, going crazy and the wind picked up to where it was ridiculous," Porter said.
She grabbed her twins, put them in the laundry room and closed all the doors in her house.
"By the time I got in the laundry room you could just hear shattering of glass everywhere, big loud booms."
Twenty minutes later, her neighbor was at her door.
"He come running across my yard, banging on the door to make sure, he knew that me and the kids were home by ourselves, making sure we were okay and we survived it but he was the one who actually told me how bad it really was."
The windows were shattered, the garage caving in and the house dubbed unsafe by Elkins Police.
"They're still saying for us not to go back in the house, cause at any point in time, it can collapse," Porter said.
The 13 years of memories her family shared in the home are forever changed.
"Everytime you hear that there's a tornado warning you kind of, eh, you know it's not gonna hit us, but after this, we'll take it a lot more serious."
The American Red Cross, Arkansas Department of Environmental Management and inmates from the Washington County Jail on work release all lent a helping hand in the continuous clean up.
Elkins Police Chief Bill Rhodes said because of the storm damaged homes in the area, they've bumped up patrols and are asking that if neighbors see anything suspicious to call police.
