'To Survive Something Like That, It's A Miracle,' Says El Reno Tornado Survivor

Monday, News 9 got an up-close look at the damage from the El Reno tornado during a tour with the governor. 

The damage is overwhelming. The American Budget Value Inn is left in ruins. A row of are vehicles trashed - some were tossed into each other and others rolled into the hotel. Boxes of family pictures and albums lay beside the rubble, and a wooden cross sits on a family picture. Mobile homes are tossed on to their sides.

News 9 can't show you Gaynell Black's trailer home. It was swept away by the tornado with her family inside.

"All I remember is Channel 9 said take cover and we were headed out the door to take shelter. The whole family of 10 and my husband said it’s here. Then all of the sudden the trailer shook left right, then we all flew in the air, spinning around and around and around. And then, as we flew in the air, all of the sudden everything stopped, and we dropped. And then our trailer blew up, and then it landed on top of all of us,” said Black.

Black says she crawled out from under the rubble and helped her children. They were buried under a mountain of wood. One was under a washing machine. Two of her kids are in critical condition, fighting for their lives. 

Black says her next-door neighbors were killed.

"Their two little kids came running to us. They were all bloody and screaming for their momma. So, I ran, and I grabbed them, and we all just held them, and they wanted their momma. But we couldn't find them,” said Black.

While the governor toured the devastation, President Trump called. "He said whatever you need in Oklahoma we are here."

Black can't even think about rebuilding right now. Her focus is on her family.  She is praying that her children survive.

"To survive something like that, it's a miracle,” said Black.

The mayor says a lot of people want to help and he appreciates the help, but he says right now the city has more supplies and more water than they know what to do with. They are asking for money though. If you can help out with that there is a GoFundMe account set up: https://www.gofundme.com/city-of-el-reno-tornado-relief-fund.