Greenfield, IA resident Haley Williams took shelter in her basement as the preliminary EF-3 tornado tore through her community. When she came out, her home was completely destroyed. Haley joined FOX Weather to discuss the harrowing experience.
GREENFIELD, Iowa – The Greenfield, Iowa, tornado paralyzed residents who lived through it with fear, but it also left their families waiting to find out if their loved ones lived through the terrifying ordeal.
On Tuesday, Amanda Alden listened to the tornado outbreak unfold from Idaho. Meanwhile, her sister, Haley Williams, was sheltering in her basement in Greenfield, Iowa, where an EF-4 tornado was ripping apart her home and neighborhood.
“Being that far away, you just feel so helpless,” Alden said. “With my sister being my best friend and not knowing if she was alive or not, that’s terrifying.”
Without knowing whether her sister was safe, Alden drove to the airport and arrived in her hometown of Greenfield that night. She learned Williams was OK and heard her incredible story of survival.
POWERFUL IMAGES CAPTURE DEADLY DEVASTATION FROM TORNADO’S AFTERMATH IN GREENFIELD, IOWA
After getting off work, Williams said she came home with a plan to relax, but a friend texted her that a tornado was headed right for her. She turned on the news and watched for updates until the tornado sirens started blaring.
“I went to the basement with as many of my critters as I could get down there,” Williams told FOX Weather. It got really loud all of a sudden and scared my dog. She ran up the stairs, and I opened the door, and all I could see was my whole house engulfed by black and green.”
Haley Williams, a Greenfield tornado survivor is embraced by family.
(Haley Williams)
After the tornado passed, Williams emerged from her devastated home.
“I was standing in my kitchen, which was destroyed. My living room was gone, my garage was gone,” Williams said. “I could literally just see nothing, but my whole neighborhood was flattened.”
After encountering a neighbor who had glass in his arms, Williams grabbed her first aid kit and helped clean his wounds. She said someone was eventually able to take him to the hospital.
WATCH: WIND TURBINE BURNS IN IOWA AFTER BEING DESTROYED BY TORNADO
At the time of the twister, Williams said her two young boys were at daycare.
“I don’t know what I would have done if they were with me at the time, too,” she said.
The family had only moved into their home a few months ago. In the span of hours, Williams went from planning a wedding with her fiancé coming up in a few months to figuring out what belongings could be salvaged from a natural disaster.
All of Williams’ dogs were found after the storm, but she is still missing a cat.
Alden started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help her sister and her family survive after the tornado destroyed everything.
While nothing will take away the moments she experienced, Williams said the help she is receiving from the community and her family has been healing.
“Just being able to be embraced in my family’s arms is definitely something you take advantage of and take for granted when you get that every day, but not knowing if you’re ever going to do that again, and especially my kids,” she said. “I was never so happy to hold my kids.”
Both sisters said the response in Greenfield has been overwhelming, and they feel fortunate to be part of a community like family.
“It just speaks volumes, in a sense, of how the world does really come together despite all the craziness that’s going on up there,” Alden said.