TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. — Not much is left of Tunkhannock native Darrell Huffman's home in Clarksville, Tennessee.
He, his wife, and his dog survived the tornados that devastated his neighborhood in Montgomery County.
Huffman says it's normal to get a warning like this living in tornado alley, but he never thought this would be the one that turned his life upside down.
“After the first one went through, the fire department confirmed a second one just hit the ground and hid in the bathtub,” said Huffman.
They huddled together, hoping he and his family would live to see the calm after the store.
“And next thing you know, we saw the three sheds we had in our backyard go bye-bye. And after that, that's when the glass from the kitchen window blew back into my face,” he recalled.
Huffman was rushed to the hospital, and the only thing his brother Larry from Lake Carey could do was wait by the phone for updates.
“I saw on the news that there were six people, and three of them from his immediate area have been killed; at that time, I began to get concerned because I didn't know what to expect,” Larry Huffman said.
When Huffman was discharged from the hospital, he came home to what was left of his house.
“The house shifted too much with the storm, and there's no hope for it,” Darrell Huffman said.
With nowhere else to go, Huffman and his family have resorted to living out of a hotel room—a harsh reality both brothers are processing. They say it demonstrates how this can happen to anyone, whether they live in Tennessee or Tunkhannock.
“There was a Lake Carey tornado that really ripped Lake Carey apart bad. So we know a little bit about what happens with tornadoes, and so I cared that he was hit with it. It all actually concerns me,” added Larry Huffman.
Larry's concerns are turning into a call for action, working with the Tunkhannock community to help raise funds so Darrell can rebuild his life.