Family Who Survived Tornado That Left A 250-Mile Path Of Destruction Speaks Out

Communities in the path of Friday’s historic outbreak of tornadoes are cleaning up, but reeling from the destruction.

This outbreak is now being called the ‘quad-state tornado’ after it carved a path across the southeast and central US.

News9 has team coverage following part of that record-breaking 250-mile path.

Two people were killed in a rural area of northeast Arkansas. Carla Marroquin says it all happened in the blink of an eye.

The Marroquin family gathered their loved ones as tornado sirens warned of the coming threat.

“The wind picked up, and all the adults, my mom, my dad, me, my friend and her husband, we all looked up, looked at each other, and at the same time, we all said – that’s the tornado,” Marroquin said.

It was a terrifying 15 minutes — huddled underground.

Carla Marroquin says the tornado sounded like thunder, and flashes of lightning lit up the cracks in the storm shelter door, where she saw debris whipping past.

“That's when I just went down and I was just like … I was speechless, I didn’t even know what to say after that,” she said.

They knew they would walk out and things wouldn’t be the same.

“At that point, mom grabbed my brother's dog, and my dad grabbed him, and my mom looked over at him and I just remember her saying, the house is gone. and he just looked down,” said Marroquin.

Her faith sustained her as the tornado ripped past.

“I felt protected. That's what my mom was saying, she was like, you are deathly terrified of storms, and she’s like I was shocked at how calm you were that night,” Marroquin said.

They walked out, alive, but in a scene of destruction.

But in the town of Monette, Arkansas, a neighbor isn’t too far away.

“All of a sudden we see the road being just…of course everybody is stopping, checking in on us, then after that you know, everybody goes to the nursing home, and everybody’s like are you guys — we’re good, go to the nursing home,” said Marroquin.

Just down the road, the roof of the Monette Manor nursing home was ripped off.

One resident was killed, several more injured, and we’re told about 40 residents relocated.

Russell Lawson is a lifelong resident of the area.

“I’m going to tell you what, I’m a 50-year-old man and I cried like a two-year-old baby. That’s how sad it was,” Lawson said.

Lawson is from Leechville, it's close.

The assistant manager of the Dollar General was killed there at work on Friday.

Another nearby town in this rural area of northeast Arkansas was hit as well — Trumann.

In Mollette, Lawson is helping transport grain from a line of damaged grain silos.

“The grain bins are gone… it's just terrible, devastating, just, this is stuff you see on TV, like everybody says, this is what you see on tv, but you don’t see it in your hometown,” he said.

The cleanup is underway, and neighbors are helping neighbors.

“I’ve never been around the world, but the people in southeast Arkansas care for each other,” he said.

We have team coverage throughout this week to bring you more stories from this historic tornado event.

If you are interested in helping out those who were affected by these devastating storms, CLICK HERE.