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'Wish I could just rewind time' | Families still recovering four weeks after Houston-area tornadoes
A family of eight shared a single hotel room for several weeks after their home was destroyed by tornadoes last month.
PASADENA, Texas — It’s been exactly four weeks since four tornadoes struck parts of Pasadena, Deer Park and other parts of southeast Houston.
Eight members of one family went from a house to a single hotel room. They’re still trying to figure out what comes next.
“The sound of everything, the glass shattering, it was terrifying,” storm survivor Crystal Thompson said.
She said that she clutched her baby in an interior hallway alongside her husband and his mother as the twister passed through.
“Within five minutes of figuring out it was headed toward us, it hit us,” Thompson said. “My mother-in-law and my husband are covering me and the baby and he’s just screaming.”
Their Pasadena rental home of six years was destroyed.
“We very easily could’ve lost their lives that day,” Thompson said.
Fortunately, four of their five children were in school at the time.
Thompson said one daughter is still dealing with trauma caused by what might have happened.
“She’s afraid to leave us,” Thompson said. “She said that she’s worried that we’re going to die when she’s gone at school and it’s just really hard.”
There’s often an emotional toll along with physical damage after events like this. It’s something many other families are likely dealing with — even weeks after the storm.
“I wish I could just rewind time and go back right now. But I can’t,” Thompson said. “Everyday people can continue on with their lives while we’re still struggling to get stability.”
The Thompsons started a GoFundMe to help pay for what renter’s insurance doesn’t cover along with the cost of living until their recovery is complete.