'This one was bad' | Deer Park residents reflect after EF3 tornado tore through their community

DEER PARK, Texas — Residents in Deer Park were left picking up the pieces after an EF3 tornado tore through their community on Tuesday.

“You just got to put one foot in front of the other and do a little at a time because it’s a big chore,” said Bobby Slocum, the owner of Second Chance Saloon. “But I feel bad for the people who had it a lot worse than me.”

With power from a gas generator, Slocum’s bar was able to keep the beer cold for his customers on Wednesday. The workers tending the bar had the fright of their lives on Tuesday.

“This one was bad,” Slocum said. “They were scared to death.”

But his bar was spared, which is more than can be said for most of the other neighbors on his block.

“We’re really lucky,” Slocum said. “I mean, we’re open.”

Deer Park resident Lee McDaniel, nine-month-old Presley and six other family members were inside their home on Tuesday when they hear what sounded like a train getting close.

“I seen the roof coming off and I made him and my wife go in the bathroom, and I kind of bunkered down near the fridge in case the roof caved in,” McDaniel said.

By the time the storm had passed, their family’s auto upholstery business, their house and one of their vehicles were destroyed.

“You see we’ve already got our plywood up we’ve got windows covered up we’ve got tarps on the roof all we can do is build it better,” McDaniel said.

The family’s property was transformed into a scrapyard within minutes during the storm.

“Luckily, another member of our family wasn’t here. They’d have been in that trailer and you see what it did, it’s upside down,” the family said.

The family said they managed to survive the storm because they did what they were supposed to.

“And that’s why they say stay away from the windows,” they said.