Terrifying moments: Mother pulls her kids from rubble after storm
"To pick my kids up and not have a home for them...I'm sorry."
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The storm from last Thursday was more than a scare for some people in Columbus.
It was a nightmare for one woman and her three kids.
The straight-line winds caused multiple trees to topple over a house with an entire family inside.
The family walked away with only cuts and bruises.
While they still have their lives, they lost their home. Something the mother is still trying to process.
“To pick my kids up and not have a home for them…I’m sorry,” Caprice said.
What you can see now is the aftermath of Thursday’s storm. You can literally see trees uprooted from the ground, and an entire yard covered in tree stumps and debris. This is where a mother and her three kids barely escaped with their lives after a tree fell on them while they were in bed. Looking at uprooted trees, an entire yard covered in branches and leaves, and now what remains from a collapsed roof.
“We ended up hearing the hail first, and when I looked out, it got dark. And then we saw the tree just come up out the ground and the next thing you know, it’s on top of us. It came through the roof on me and my girls and then I kind of just came to and realized what happened. I found one of my girls but the other one wasn’t responding so I got that first baby. I got her out through the back,” she said.
She said when she ran out to get help finding her other child, people stood around and watched.
I ran out through the streets asking people to help me. But nobody would help me. They would just record what happened so I ran back in and found my other daughter, I started screaming for her. She reached her hand out so I got her and pulled her out. We just ran,” Caprice said.
After finding all of her children and escaping, Caprice knows the emotional storm has just begun for her family.
All three of her kids have special needs.
She said the event was especially confusing to them.
“They are so traumatized. Nothing makes sense to them. If you know what PTSD is, every now and then, even I’m doing it I’m doing it, (shakes) it’s like I can feel it again. So they not doing good mentally. They are emotional. They break down every few minutes,” she said.
While Caprice didn’t receive immediate help from spectators, neighbors, friends, and family came through minutes after Caprice and her kids emerged from the rubble.
Safe Place Foundation, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, family around the country, and neighbors down the road all pitched in to help Caprice find new footing.
After finding her cat, lost in the rubble for four days, Caprice knew she was on the right track.
“I really appreciate everybody that’s been reaching out and helping us. This is just the beginning,” she said.
Caprice and her family are still displaced, but she has faith she’ll find a new home soon.
Resources to Contact if you or someone you know has been displaced or needs emotional support:
American Red Cross Association: www.redcross.org/get-help
HUD Assistance: www.hud.gov/states/mississippi/homeless/shelters
Helping Hands: (662)328-8301
Columbus Community Counseling www.ccsms.org
