Delaware is "incredibly lucky" more lives weren't lost in tornado, Gov. Carney says

GREENWOOD, Del. (CBS) -- The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado touched down in Sussex County, Delaware. 

One person was killed in Greenwood as plenty of damage was left behind.  

A house in Greenwood was leveled to its foundation. The only thing left standing: two toilets and a refrigerator.

"You never expect to go through something like this," Staci Warrington, who lost her home to the tornado, said. "You never expect to walk out of your door and it's just barely raining and then a few hours later, there is no front door anymore." 

Warrington was having dinner with friends Saturday night when she got a frantic call from her neighbor. 

"She said, 'Honey, you gotta get home right now. Your house is gone,'" Warrington said. "She said 'There's nothing left but your truck.' I said, 'Yeah, OK, it's April Fools.'" 

But it wasn't a joke. 

Warrington's house on Fawn Road was one of three dozen homes destroyed or damaged in Sussex County. 

"If I was home, I don't think I would be here," Warrington said. "I mean, it was just flattened all the way across." 

Gov. John Carney toured Warrington's house and a facility run by the Delaware Department of Transportation, where the damage is estimated at $5 million.

Carney confirms one man was killed in a house that collapsed – the first tornado death in the state since 1983.

"We're really incredibly lucky, lucky that more lives weren't lost," Carney said.  

Delaware is working to get assistance from FEMA and help residents who have been forced from their homes.

As for Warrington, she's staying with her parents till she gets back on her feet. 

Residents are now left to salvage what they can from this tangled mess.

In:
• Sussex County
• Tornado
• Delaware