‘I thought I was going to die,’ Woman survives tornado in Temple; loses home and business

TEMPLE, Texas (KWTX) – A Temple resident and small business owner is in shock after surviving the EF-2 tornado that ripped through West Temple Wednesday night, and, now, she is picking up the pieces of both her business and home that were destroyed in that tornado.

“I peak out the door, and I see the sky and the door slams back on me,” Hansy Howard who was in her small business, Studio Pets, off of W Adams Ave. and Meadowbrook Dr., when the tornado hit the area. “Then, I hear hail, and I call my daughter and I tell her, ‘I’m going to die.’”

Howard said she heard the tornado siren, called her son, grabbed her two dogs and ran to the bathroom.

“As soon as I shut the door, I hear banging like someone broke in, and I don’t get out,” she said. “I thought it was just like thunderstorms, and I hear ripping.”

She said the wind shook the building, and, once she heard things clear up, she saw the aftermath of the tornado.

“After a while, I opened the door, and I couldn’t even really open the door. It was blocked, and I really pushed it,” Howard said. “It destroyed everything.”

Once she made it out of what was left of her business, she saw how hard the tornado hit her home, which is to the left of her business on Meadowbrook Dr.

“My home was demolished,” she said. “If you look at the roof, it’s really scary. The whole thing got ripped off except for the tiles in the bathroom.”

The tornado tore off parts of the roof, making the wood frame and insulation visible as well as some of the inside of the home. She said she is unable to live there at this time and distraught at the damage she is now facing. However, she said she is grateful she survived.

“I’m still in shock,” she said.

This is only the beginning of a long recovery process, so she is asking the community for help and donations, especially for her dog and cat grooming business.

To donate, she said to contact her at 254-743-8125 or barkingoarks@yahoo.com. Her Cash App is @bopr76502.

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