HARVEYVILLE, Kan. — The Governor of Kansas has declared a state of emergency after Tuesday night’s storm left Harveyville, Kansas in ruins.
It’s a small town. Only 250 people call it home. But now most of their homes have been reduced to rubble. Four-year-old Samantha Cantrell is dealing with the loss of her home and toys the way any kid her age would.
“My balloons are all flat, and one of them got a rip in it,” Cantrell said. “Even my dancing flower’s broken,” she shouted with tears in her eyes.
PICTURES: Harveyville Tornado Damage
She’s sad, but she’s lucky. Just before the storm swept through, Samantha was playing on the computer right next to a wall that was ripped off by the storm. Her mom, Diana, brought her into the kitchen, but when the storm started to get stronger, she changed her mind.
“We heard some things breaking, and I just got up and I ran into the kitchen and I grabbed her, and we ran into the bedroom, and by the time we got to the bedroom, the house was already starting to come down,” said Diana Cantrell. “I threw her down into the closet, and I got down on top of her and my husband was almost getting sucked back out of the bedroom.”
The family huddled together for safety in a tiny closet.
On Wednesday, as chainsaws whirred all around the Cantrell family home. As they looked at their broken house, they realized how close they were to losing the most precious part of their home in the terrifying storm.
“They don’t make them like this anymore, and this house saved our life,” Diana said, smiling.
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