'You can replace a building:' Greensboro residents feel lucky to be alive after tornado
Greensboro residents were assessing damage Monday after the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-2 tornado touched down Sunday night.
Churches, schools and homes were all destroyed, and the east side of the city was hardest hit.
“It really looked like a war zone, and we have to remember people are living in these conditions. Today, everybody is just grateful to be alive, and we are grateful that they are alive,” Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughn said.
Students at Hampton Elementary, Peeler Elementary and Erwin Montessori schools have all been relocated to other buildings after Sunday’s storms caused extensive damage. They will finish out the school year in new locations.
At Living Hope Missionary Baptist Church, parishioners had just locked the doors Sunday evening when a funnel cloud tore the roof from the building where Rev. Lester Woodard and his congregation have worshipped for 18 years.
“We just trust in the Lord. I tell a lot of them that we may be down, but we’re not out. The Lord always makes a way,” Woodard said.
The bibles inside the church were wet but salvageable, and insulation was hanging from what remained of the ceiling Monday afternoon.
Despite the damage, Woodard said he still feels blessed.
“You can replace a building, but not a soul,” he said.
Across the street from the church, tall trees toppled onto homes, power lines and cars.
“We heard this sound, and we’ve already heard people say it sounded like a locomotive or train or something. Believe me, it did. We were scared stiff,” resident Luther Cheek said.
Cheek and his wife were home when the tornado ripped through their house, uprooting trees and part of their driveway.
One possession remained untouched, which they said was a sign from God that they were not alone in their darkest hour.
“One thing that held up, see that sign, ‘thank you Jesus,’ it held up for us. It never did go over,” Cheek said.
The tornado nearly destroyed the home Jeremiah Martinez moved into four months ago and demolished the family's cars. He said debris fell on family members and they had to dig his wife out of the bathroom.
Two streets over, Brianna Floyd was terrified as she waited with her 84-year-old mother and her daughter, Destiny, for the storm to pass.
"As I was jumping off the bed, it just sounded likt the ground was cracking, because trees were falling in the room I was in and she was screaming 'mommy, mommy, it's a storm," Floyd said.
A chorus of chainsaws echoed through Greensboro neighborhoods Monday afternoon, while teachers and counselors from nearby schools used their time away from class to teach the art of caring.
Many people said that, despite the damage, they were feeling grateful and happy to be alive, but those who survived the storm were struggling.
"This is my native land. I feel like I need to help the people over here," said Pastor Russel Miller of Tabernacle of Meeting Church.
Miller said he returned Monday to the neighborhood where he grew up to find those who needed help.
"I didn't think it was this bad. I saw it on TV, but when you come out here and actually laid eyes on it, it's worse than what you could possibly imagine," he said.
Miller traveled up and down McConnel Street, which is just a few blocks away from what's left of Hampton Elementary School, while other members of his congregation prepared warm meals for storm victims.
"It's good to give back. Some people, ain't no telling when they had their las meal," Miller said. "As long as there are people in the community willing to help, that's good enough for us."
The congregation plans to stay outside, grilling food, until the power is restored.
