Miami Native Endures Deadly Tornadoes While At Missouri School
MIAMI (CBS4) - The devastating tornadoes that have been tearing through the Midwest come on the heels of other severe weather plaguing states like Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
In all, tornadoes have killed an estimated 500 people since the beginning of April. As a violent storm system ripped through the Midwest Wednesday afternoon, Miami native Nabely Castillo was trembling in the closet in her Columbia, Missouri apartment.
"Given everything that happened on Sunday in Joplin nobody takes it as joke or lightly….It's a little scary, especially this one because it was very apparent it was really bad outside," she told CBS4's Natalia Zea by phone.
While hiding she called her dad, CBS4 News photojournalist Abel Castillo for help. He immediately put her on the phone with a CBS4 meteorologist.
"I spoke to Craig Setzer and I said can you help me out, my daughter's in a tornado warning," he said.
It was tough for Abel to be in South Florida while his daughter was in danger so many states away.
"The first inclination as a parent is to protect your children, and when you're not there it's like all you have is communication with the phone and hope to God, pray to God that nothing happens to your kids," said Abel.
Nabely was okay, but a tornado did touch down nearby in the town of Sedalia, leaving behind damage and devastation.
The tornados have been plaguing the Midwest and the south for weeks.
Red Cross spokesperson Chrystian Tejedor got back recently from volunteering in Tennessee.
"The look of relief that you see on people's faces when they pull up in the trucks and you hand them a meal, at the end of the day it's very rewarding," Tejedor told Zea.
He says when times get tough, it's important for South Floridians to help.
"We've gotten help from folks from Tennessee and from other states. It's amazing to be able to repay that favor when they've helped us out when we've had hurricanes."
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