ROUND ROCK, Texas — Jason McMurry is sifting through his belongings with an insurance adjustor. It’s a painful experience, discussing the worth of items that are ruined forever.
McMurry was a renter in Round Rock. When the tornado hit Monday, he and his wife found themselves in an unrecognizable home.
“It lasted maybe 45 seconds, but it felt like 4 years,” McMurry said of the tornado. “We literally made it two steps out of the bedroom, and everything just exploded. So I just put myself in between the room and my wife and reached back and grabbed the handle and tried to keep us from being sucked out.”
It’s a memory McMurry won’t forget. And now he has to relive it by creating an inventory of his belongings that are now covered in sewage and insulation from the attic.
“It’s just… It’s a lot to go through because everything that we had, everything that we used for our livelihood, all of it’s just gone,” he said.
McMurry said his insurance company will pay up to $30,000. But he says his possessions are worth at least double that.
As families grapple with homes, cars and memories lost, volunteers from the community are stepping up. Caitlin Leggett is a stay-at-home mom and has time to help. She’s organizing other volunteers through Facebook.
“I love my neighbors,” she said. “Our neighborhood has more heart than a Hallmark movie.”
She and another Round Rock resident, Molly Stapleton, are helping the McMurrys. They’re taping up boxes to move out what’s salvageable. Even the president of the Kensington Neighborhood Association stopped by. He provided comfort, but is struggling with the devastation before him.
“We were just destroyed, distressed,” said Richard Parson through tears. “I’m sorry, but it’s so hard to believe. So many people are homeless and it happened so quickly.”
Both Parson and McMurry wish there was an emergency alert system to give them more notice, like a siren or text message.
