Tornado Damages Cleburne Family's New Home
CLEBURNE (CBS 11 NEWS) – The Silva family moved from California to Cleburne just four before tornadoes ripped through the town. Their home is one of the worst in a badly damaged neighborhood.
The Silvas spent the most intense moments of the storm inside an interior closet, struggling to hold the broken door closed.
"I've never pulled anything so hard in my life," said Silva.
The family of four and three dogs all huddled in the closet, fearing the strong winds would pull them out.
"Seems like every place I've lived had a major natural disaster. This is just another one to chalk up on the list," said Silva.
His home is one of 600 in Cleburne missing a roof. But still, the Silva's have mounted an American flag on top of their home as a symbol of resolve.
Click For Comprehensive Coverage of the May 2013 Tornado Outbreak
Cleburne dentist Bryan Aiken's home sustained some of the worst with hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
"All this stuff really doesn't matter. We weren't hurt and that's the main thing," said Dr. Bryan Aiken.
As many as three tornadoes touched down in Johnson County with winds as high as 140 miles per hour. Residents credit tornado warnings with saving lives.
"The news channels did an awesome job on warning us I'm mean minute after minute after minute we had plenty of time and I'm so grateful for that because I had my 80-year-old mother here," said Debbie Aiken.
Nine people were injured in Cleburne. Some schools were damaged enough to cancel classes through the week, and a curfew was in effect Thursday night.
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