‘I just started praying’: Alberta tornado survivors thankful to be alive | 24CA News
Nearly two weeks after a twister ripped via an space north of Calgary, volunteers are out choosing up particles by hand.
There was a home on the Kellsey household farm north of Carstairs, Alta. That was earlier than of savage winds tore it all the way down to the muse in simply minutes on July 1.
All whereas Diane Kellsey was within the basement along with her canine.
“I got the alert on my phone and I looked up and saw the funnel cloud behind the quonset,” recalled Diane.
Diane scooped up her canine and so they huddled downstairs whereas she listened to what sounded just like the gazebo crashing into the facet of the home.
“I just started praying that Jesus would keep us safe and the next thing I remember hearing is my son calling ‘Mom are you there? It’s going to be OK. I’m coming for you.’”
Diane’s son Travis lives throughout the freeway along with his spouse Kari and their child. They, too, have been saved by in search of shelter within the basement.
“We were devastated and heartbroken but blessed that we are alive. It doesn’t seem real seeing that our homes are gone,” Kari mentioned.
The couple emerged unhurt however their residence was additionally destroyed. Travis ran over to his dad and mom’ place and began digging via the particles to search out his mother.
Rosalie, Kari and Travis Kellsey stand in entrance of the place their residence was in Carstairs, Alta.
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“I looked around and half the door was gone. There were pieces of wood and nails, and glass all pooled around my feet. There was straw everywhere,” Diane mentioned.
“There was a fireman at the top and he lifted me the rest of the way, and then I looked around and everything was gone. The barn was gone. The house was gone. My son carried me and kept saying ‘it’s OK mom.’”
Hundreds of individuals have been on the website for the reason that twister touched down destroying 6 houses. There have been no accidents however 50 of the Kellsey’s herd of cattle have been killed or needed to be put down.
“When I came over the hill and I saw this farm was gone, my heart sank. It was devastating,” mentioned Tyler Frank.
Frank began working for the household as a youngster. He’s now a works for the Calgary Fire Department. He was one of many first on scene and took on the job of assessing the cows.
“We had a bunch of dead animals and it wasn’t pretty, but we did what we had to do and what was best for the animals,” Frank mentioned.
“This family has done a lot for me over the years and this is where I needed to be. I’ve never seen anything like that: a lifetime of work gone in 30 seconds.”
Amid the destruction, the household is grateful everyone seems to be secure. Seeing so many individuals assist them with gear, meals, love and labour has helped them keep on.
“It’s amazing to see the community come out like this and help us. This is the bit of good that comes out of it,” Kari mentioned.
Doug Delong is the lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Olds, Alta. He mentioned he felt overwhelmed by the quantity of meals that was donated to the household in addition to the variety of individuals from the church who got here out to assist help.
“This type of destruction and devastation — you can’t handle it by yourself. Having someone come alongside and help carry the load with you is encouraging,” Delong mentioned.
An overturned semi truck and trailer is pictured close to Carstairs, Alta., on July 13, 2023.
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Dianne Engel-Kimmel lives close by however didn’t know the Kellsey household till the twister occurred. She’s been coordinating the volunteers who’ve introduced gear and experience.
“We are doing the grid system right now, just trying to do bite-sized pieces. When you see those bite-sized pieces come together, what we’ve done is just amazing and it makes the family feel so encouraged,” Engel-Kimmel mentioned. “It’s been an amazing experience with the outpouring of support.”
The household isn’t positive if they are going to rebuild on the identical location.
One factor they’re sure of is how blessed they mentioned they really feel realizing that everybody is unhurt. Four members of the family discovered shelter basements and Ray Kellsey was not at residence on the time.
“I realized none of us were bleeding or hurt or broken and my niece who lives in the trailer wasn’t home and my husband wasn’t in the yard and we were fine but the house was gone,” Diane mentioned.
The twister is among the many strongest ever recorded in Canada. It has been rated at EF-4 by the University of Western Ontario’s Northern Tornadoes Project in collaboration with the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) Prairie and Arctic Storm Prediction Centre.
It tossed farm gear and destroyed houses, however volunteers have been capable of finding Kari Kellsey’s marriage ceremony ring amidst all of the particles.
“They tore down the house because it was structurally unsound, but it was found not far from the bedroom on the other side,” she mentioned. “I said ‘I can’t believe you found it.’ A tiny little ring.
“It was such a good feeling.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
