The Jaramillo family of Waxahachie spent Tuesday cleaning up what the storm blew away in about 15 seconds.
Amando Jaramillo was sitting outside Monday night when he felt cool winds beginning to whip around his home.
His cousin texted him to take cover as a storm was approaching.
“I went to shut the door and the door just kind of flies open and the lights flicker and go out and I called for my son,” he said.
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The family had no idea an EF-2 tornado was seconds away.
They crouched together in their small bathroom and prayed as walls around them were ripped away.
“It felt like an engine of a plane or like a helicopter,” he remembered.
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While Jaramillo and his son suffered only minor scratches, his wife had to be hospitalized because of a leg injury.
Ellis County officials say no one was killed in the storm that damaged or destroyed up to 70 buildings.
Neighbors immediately rallied to help those affected.
“We band together because we are the church of God,” said resident Robin Donaldson.
Stagecoach Cowboy Church along FM 55 is providing bottled water for anyone in need.
“We just want to open the doors, make it available if anyone just needs a place to come and rest, that’s great,” said church elder Wayne Rowe. “If you need a meal, if you need clothes, anything else we can provide. We just want to be here for our community.”
Back at the Jaramillos’ home, sadness over the destruction is overshadowed by gratitude.
“God just spared us,” said Jaramillo. “God is awesome. He’s awesome.”
Stagecoach Cowboy Church is hosting a dinner for the community at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
