By: Nick Genty, American Red Cross

Amanda Hernandez recalls the moment when the March 31st twister descended into her North Little Rock, Arkansas neighborhood- it was terrifying. She knew she only had minutes if not seconds before the deadly tornado hit her home.   

She and her family had their tablets, listening to the dangerous weather situation that was happening when she heard the TV weathercaster alert her to take shelter now, the tornado was heading straight towards North Little Rock. Hernandez said her husband was outside trying to watch the storm when she yelled at him "Don’t! Just get inside!" 

When the tornado hit, she didn't panic; instead, she immediately went into action mode. Hernandez's story is proof that preparation is key when it comes to handling a destructive tornado. She knew that she needed to keep her family away from exterior windows.  She quickly hustled her family and the family dog into the hallway of the home just as the twister hit. Within minutes she could hear the glass breaking on the sliding door to the backyard. She says she could feel the home lifting, "The roof’s going to blow off, the roof is going to blow off!” Hernandez recalled thinking.  

As soon as the storm moved past her home, Hernandez knew she and her family needed to get out and find a safe place. “Once we started smelling gas, we just had to pack up what we could and run. We had to throw away a lot of things that were damaged”, she said. Many of her belongings are still scattered across her front and back yard more than a week after the storm hit.  

Hernandez is lucky, she has another property that she and her husband were remodeling that they can call home for a short time. With a deep sigh, Hernandez has accepted it will be a long time before she will be able to return to the home she knows. “I’m thinking hopefully, maybe, it will be a minimum of 6 months, at least 6 months. The kids need security; the kids need a home.”    

It's the stuff of nightmares, the sound of a tornado bearing down on your home, the fear that it can take everything you own in the blink of an eye. That was exactly what happened to Hernandez and her family.  They are one of the lucky ones that have a place to recover. For thousands of others who don’t have a secondary home, they are staying in Red Cross shelters, hotels or with other family members or friends as they work to figure out their next move.  

For more information on how you can help those impacted, visit www.redcross.org