I have lived through some really powerful storms back in Uganda but nothing prepared me for the harrowing experience of the power of a tornado. Altogether, 45 five people died in the storms that swept through North Carolina all the way to Virginia. The memories are imprinted on my mind, and I will forever be grateful to God that my family and I were spared the brunt of the storm.

This is the path of the Tornado as it swept in from Fayetteville, heading North East Towards Virginia.

We survived a tornado and I will never forget the experience. I have lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina since the beginning of 2006, but I had never experienced anything like the storm that swept through our neighborhood. It was one incredible and very scary experience.

I looked up at the sky and the clouds were this dark greenish color and things were spinning. We ran back into the house just in time. The sound of the shrieking wind was horrifying, almost like a freight train bearing down on you.

At first there was this calmness, and then out of nowhere the funnel touched down almost like a finger – a line of damage from the elementary school behind us through our neighbors yards 2 houses down from us. I was too stunned to switch on my video camera. But after the storm passed I ventured out and took some snapshots, doing my best to be sensitive to neighbors who didn’t want their homes photographed.

Our kids swing was no match for the strong winds. I watched as this was literally being shredded before my eyes, like a weak sail against a powerful storm. Now I know why so many people got injured, I was watching it like a deer caught in headlights, almost too numb to move, when I should have been taking refuge in a bathtub, since we do not have basements here in Fayetteville. We just don’t get these kinds of storms. This one took us by surprise.

Neighbours working hard to fix their roofs after the storm. Whats amazing is the precision of the Tornado, and how on either side there was no damage; seemed to have been focused on the path the funnel took. I am so grateful that it didn’t linger too long, I think our whole neighborhood would have been destroyed.

Please keep the victims families in your prayers.

NORTH CAROLINA TORNADO AFTERMATH UPDATE: Here is a more complete Gallery from the photos I took of the Tornado devastation in the Dunn Neighborhood of North Carolina. This is off of Exit 72, 95N – Pope Road.