The Young family, Chelsea, Cliff, Chase, and Nancy, survivors of the Greensburg tornado, lost most of their home and are staying in a hotel, but were more fortunate than others.

Pratt ? Editor’s note: Denise Gossage, of Lawrence, and her family were preparing to return home from a trip to New Mexico when a tornado hit Greensburg. Gossage, a fellow in the Citizen Journalism Academy, decided to stop there on the return trip to witness the damage and talk to survivors. She met the Young family, of Greensburg, who was staying in a hotel in Pratt. This is the story the family told Gossage.

Nancy Young says she has always been afraid of violent weather. But she was unusually calm Friday night when Greensburg’s tornado sirens sounded.

In her pajamas and in pain from a condition in her neck that was to be operated on the following Wednesday, she gathered two pitchers of water, some crackers, candles and matches and took them to the basement where her son, Chase, and two eighth-grade girls were waiting. Then Nancy went back upstairs to get the clock radio from her bedroom as her husband, Cliff, kept watch out the windows.

The two girls had been walking around town when their mothers called them on their cell phones, telling them to go to the nearest house and get inside, fearing they could not reach home before the storm hit.

The group followed the progress of the tornado on the radio as it roared nearer. Cliff and Nancy covered the children and their pets, a dog and two cats, with blankets and pillows. The girls nervously chatted with family and friends on their cell phones. They could hear the strong storm outside.

Then the electricity went out and the sirens stopped.

Nancy and Cliff wondered if that meant all was clear. Cliff said they’d better stay put for another 10 minutes, just in case. Nancy alternated between pacing and sitting in a chair, her natural fear returning. Then the wind picked up, and that’s when they heard the roar of the tornado.

Nancy prayed out loud. “My God is bigger than this!” “God help our family and friends!” “Help us dear Lord! Help me understand why this is happening!” She could feel her husband shaking, something she had never seen him do before.

The girls shouted, “My ears are popping!” Chase was leaning up against his bedroom door in the basement. He felt wind coming from under the door.

Then it all stopped.

Nancy and Cliff went upstairs. “Not so bad,” she thought at first, seeing through one door that her kitchen was still intact. Then her husband – outside now – called to her: “The tree is on the carport.” She noticed a strong pine smell.

As they started looking around the rest of the house, they saw incredible damage. But the house was not totally flattened. The girls, still in the basement, could not get through to their families because cell towers were either down or not working. The adults insisted the children stay there for safety.

Nancy and Cliff started looking around outside. The sky was black. Drizzle fell. In the flashes of lightning, they could see people in the streets. They saw bare trees and no houses.

Cliff’s friend came by looking for the wife of a mutual friend whose husband was out of town. “Amber, Amber!” they shouted.

They heard her call back, and they pulled her and her 2-year-old daughter, both unhurt, from the rubble of their house.

Neighbors hugged one another tightly. Many were crying.

One person said, “Main Street is gone.”

Then Nancy said she started crying, mostly worried about her parents on the other side of town. She and Cliff headed toward Nancy’s parents’ home. It took them 90 minutes to make a typical five-minute drive.

Nothing looked familiar.

They reached the house and a neighbor came up to Nancy and told her that her parents were safe. Nancy’s father has a bad leg and couldn’t negotiate the debris to get out of the house, so her parents decided to stay put until morning when someone could come by to help them. They were going to sleep in their own bed that night.

When Nancy and Cliff returned home, they picked up Chase and the two girls and went to Dillons on the outskirts of town, where they had heard people were gathering to be accounted for, loaded onto buses and taken to shelters. Nancy said she thought that would be the best place for the girls to meet up with their parents. She hugged the girls goodbye and returned to the truck.

They drove back to town and saw a woman carrying two bags. It was Nancy’s mother.

She said her husband had been taken to Dillons. They went back to Dillons, where Nancy forcefully explained she would take her father to safety. The group drove west 10 miles to Mullinville, where they had family and friends and could stay the night.

Because Cliff works for Kansas Gas Service, he was able to get in and out of town, which, a few hours after the storm, had been blockaded to all but emergency workers. He was able to check on the family’s pets, all OK, and get to his in-laws’ home to retrieve a little money that had been hidden under some mattresses.

Chelsea’s story

Chelsea Young, Nancy and Cliff Young’s daughter and a sophomore at Greensburg High School, was in Salina on Friday for a forensics meet with 37 classmates.

After the meet – the team took a top rating – the teens went to the local mall before heading to the hotel where they would spend the night. Later, at the hotel pool, she called her dad, but got his voicemail. Chelsea said this was unusual because he always answers her calls right away.

Then a friend came to the pool saying there was a tornado in Greensburg. They all left the pool and grouped in a room to watch TV.

After seeing the images on television, one girl said her house was gone. After a while, Chelsea received calls from friends and family members – but not her parents or brother – asking if she was OK. Finally at 11:30 p.m. she spoke to her father. Until then, she said, many frightening thoughts had run through her head.

The group left Salina at 9 a.m. Saturday for Pratt Community College, where families picked them up. Nancy arrived about 1:30 p.m. and took Chelsea to the Evergreen Inn where the family were staying.

Aftermath

Early this week, as Chase traveled around Greensburg, he wondered where all his friends were. He could not tell who lived where anymore. He noticed the only city sign left was their street sign. He was going to miss the last few weeks of school. He would not say if he was happy or sad about that.

Nancy and Chelsea said they felt lucky that part of their house was still intact and some of their possessions could be salvaged.

Cliff said residents were getting help from friends and neighbors. So far, none of his family knew anyone who had died.

The Youngs said they are eager to find temporary housing so they can have more space for the kids.

As she talked, Nancy watched trucks drive west on Highway 54 towing bulldozers and loaders. She knew where they were going. She said it gave her chills.