‘Prepared for the pain’: Tornado survivor recalls moment when EF-4 tornado hit
By Marcus McIntosh
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GREENFIELD, Iowa (KCCI) — Five adults and four dogs sheltered in a basement for safety as the Greenfield tornado barreled over them last Tuesday.
One of those people, Erika Christensen, shared with KCCI the video from before, during and after the tornado hit the home.
Melissa Garcia Rodriguez was one of those five people inside that basement in Greenfield when the EF-4 tornado tore through. She thought they were doomed.
“We are all screaming and hanging onto each other. The shaking when it stopped felt like it was going on forever. And I was just, I was getting prepared to die. Because there is no way this house was going to stay intact. I was just getting ready and being prepared for the pain,” Garcia Rodriguez said.
Once the tornado passed and they knew they were safe, they came out of their shelter and saw the destruction for the first time. Garcia Rodriguez remembers hearing what sounded like a train moments before the tornado hit — a sound that will haunt her.
“Now, every time I hear that, I just think of the windows breaking all at once. And the dust getting in our mouths. And that’s all that I think about,” Garcia Rodriguez said.
While cleanup from the deadly tornado that claimed four lives continues, flags fly throughout Greenfield this Memorial Day to remember service men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
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