Circumstances for multiple families living in Wilson County are improving, but the repairs to homes affected by Thursday’s tornado are far from complete.
The National Weather Service determined an EF3 tornado touched down in Lucama in the early morning hours of Thursday as storms from Tropical Storm Debby moved through. The Kyle family felt that devastation, too.
A 60-year-old man died in Wilson County Thursday when a house collapsed in a tornado, officials said.
“I’ve got limbs that went through the roof and that went through the floor even. It’s pretty bad off inside,” John Kyle said.
Their home has no power. A tarp covers a heavily damaged roof, debris remains on the ground and the inside conditions are not livable. Kyle said it is the same home he grew up in.
His wife, Jessie Kyle, said they are alive thanks to a push alert from Spectrum News 1. She said they popped out of bed, turned on the TV, saw the storm’s path and took shelter. Jessie Kyle said she and her husband decided to move their three children, two dogs and a parrot into the bathroom.
They described hearing a noise like a drumbeat growing louder and louder until the sound of a roaring train manifested in the form of a natural disaster as trees crashed into the home, glass shattered and the ceiling caved in their daughter’s bedroom.
“It's a little scary. A lot of scary. The kids. The kids were really scared,” John Kyle said.
To make matters worse, part of the car lot of the dealership that John Kyle owns, Kyle Auto Group, still sat underwater in Wilson on Saturday.
The Kyles say thank God they have kind people living in Wilson County helping them pick up the pieces.
Working hands and willing hearts were in ample supply all over their property on Saturday morning. John Kyle said volunteers from the community showed up to help.
“I'm usually the helper. I like being the helper. I don't like to be the helped. I'm super appreciative that everybody's showing up,” John Kyle said.
Volunteers chainsawed tree trunks, moved big hunks of lumber and cleaned up the yard.
The couple estimates upwards of 100 people volunteered to clean up Saturday morning.
The senior pastor of their Farmington Heights Church in Wilson also brought helpers and contributed to the cleanup efforts.
“Our community’s responded by helping those that are in need,” Daylon Mooneyham said.
Members from the Wave Church and The Redemption Church at New Hope in Wilson chipped in, too.
“There’s nothing like seeing a community that has been devastated come together, rally together and help one another,” Mooneyham said.
The pastor and the Kyles said it is a reminder that good people rise to the occasion, even in the hardest times.
“This is what we do in the South. We take care of everybody down here. Southern hospitality. There’s good people down here,” John Kyle said.
The family said they are staying with relatives for the time being. Jessie Kyle said insurance adjusters will not arrive to assess the extent of the damage until Tuesday.