VALLEY VIEW, Texas—Brandon Finney didn’t go to church on May 26, but he still spent the morning thanking God. At least 18 people were killed after storms, including tornados, cut a path of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, starting late on May 25 and into the morning of May 26.
The storms inflicted their worst damage in a region spanning from north of Dallas to the northwest corner of Arkansas, and the system threatened to bring more violent weather to other parts of the Midwest. By May 27, forecasters said, the greatest risk would shift to the east, covering a broad swath of the country from Alabama to near New York City.
Seven fatalities were reported in Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border. The dead included two children, ages 2 and 5, according to Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington. Cooke County includes the small community of Valley View, which was among the hardest-hit areas impacted by a tornado, officials said. Three family members were found dead in one home, Mr. Sappington said.
It’s also where Mr. Finney lives with his daughters, ages 3 and 5.
The May 25 tornado plowed through a rural area, hitting Mr. Finney’s RV and destroying others in a park near Valley View. As he stood in front of his overturned RV on May 26, Mr. Finney recounted the events of the previous night.
He put his little girls to bed and prepared for bed himself. He knew severe weather had been forecast, and he grew concerned when the wind suddenly calmed. He got his children out of bed and they went to the community storm shelter.
“I’ve been in too many tornados; I know when it’s coming,” Mr. Finney told The Epoch Times.
Tom and Lynn Graham rode out the tornado in their motor home just yards away from the shelter Mr. Finney and his daughters were in. Ms. Graham said the force of the wind pushed in the expandable sections of the camper and blew out the vehicle’s windshield as Mr. Graham struggled to keep the sections from closing completely.
“The wind was really strong,” he told The Epoch Times.
On May 26, the camper’s interior was littered with debris from other RV’s in the park. But the couple said they are grateful to be alive. Since they live in the RV full time, it is heavily loaded with all their possessions. Fortunately for them, the vehicle was partially shielded by the RV park office. Mr. Graham said that is likely what kept the vehicle upright.
“That probably saved us,” he said.
Just a few rows over, Terry Showers got a message from a former neighbor. She warned him that the weather he had been watching was likely to spawn a tornado. So he got into his car and drove a few miles south to park in a Walmart parking lot.
After the storm passed, he drove home. The drive, which had taken minutes before the storm, stretched into three hours as crews worked to remove trees and downed power lines from the road.
On May 26, the disabled truck driver stood in front of his destroyed camper and acknowledged his uncertain future. He expressed gratitude for friends and neighbors who have come to his aid.
“It helps when people really love you and care,” he told The Epoch Times.
The owner of the Lake Ray Roberts Marina outside of Sanger, Texas, said he was also grateful. Considering the storms hit at the beginning of the three-day Memorial Day weekend, he said he was glad that there were no fatalities at his crowded marina.
Cory Williams has been the marina’s operations manager for 10 years. He said the marina has had storm damage in the past, but nothing to match the devastation of the May 25 tornado.
Two of the marina’s nine boat sheds were destroyed, and the rest sustained some damage. In addition to the hundreds of boats sunk, swamped, or seriously damaged, the marina’s RV park was flattened. Mr. Williams told The Epoch Times that several people were injured in the RV park, one of them seriously.
One couple sleeping in their boat did not hear the alarms sounded by marina personnel and was trapped. Marina personnel rescued them and got them off their vessel unharmed.
“Because of Memorial Day weekend, that was our primary fear,” he said. “Luckily, I think a lot of people went home for the night.”
According to Mr. Williams, the most immediate impact on his business is the destruction of the fuel dock, store, and boat rental office. Still, he said that is an issue that can be corrected with insurance and time.
Strong Community Spirit
At the marina’s RV park, the aroma of sunblock and diesel fuel wafted from the wrecked campers, boats, and golf carts. Chad Whisenhunt was among the groups walking through the devastated park, gathering debris and the belongings of the park inhabitants. While he doesn’t live in the park, Mr. Whisenhunt said he feels a responsibility to help.He said that while this is one of the worst storms to hit his community, it isn’t the first. He said helping neighbors in need is what’s expected in Sanger.
“In this day and age, we all go through times of trials, and it’s just a natural thing as a human being to help somebody,” Mr. Whisenhunt said.
Helping is what people gathered at the Valley View Community Center to do.
The metal building in Valley View’s downtown was a hive of activity on the morning of May 26. The four-way stop in front of the community center was busy as pickup trucks, cars, and pedestrians dropped off cases of water, boxes of food, and other relief supplies.
Valley View Mayor Pro Tem Joe Wilkerson worked with other volunteers to coordinate the efforts. He told reporters that he had little in the way of official information, but he knew some things needed to be done.
“We’re taking in all the donations, and we’re sending them out to where they are needed as we figure that out,” Mr. Wilkerson told The Epoch Times.
By late May 26, tens of thousands of residents were without power across the entire region, including more than 80,000 customers in Arkansas and more than 90,000 in neighboring Missouri. Texas reported 27,000 outages, while 3,000 were reported in Oklahoma, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us.
Eight people died statewide in Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in a May 26 press conference. An emergency official said two of the deaths were attributed to the circumstances of the storm but not directly caused by weather, including a person who suffered a heart attack and another who was deprived of oxygen because of a loss of electricity.
The storms also killed two people and destroyed houses in Oklahoma’s Mayes County, east of Tulsa, where the injured included guests at an outdoor wedding.
In Kentucky, a man was killed on May 26 in Louisville when a tree fell on him, according to police. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg confirmed that it was a storm-related death on social media.
“It’s just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe,” Mr. Sappington said.
