Tornado destroys nine Seadrift homes

March 30--SEADRIFT -- Julian Martinez crawled out of a hole in the debris that used to be his small mobile home, which was destroyed early Thursday by a tornado that slammed into the coastal town.

When his home landed after the tornado flipped it over, Martinez's shoulders and neck were hurting. The 63-year-old had no insurance on his home and said he doesn't know where he's going to stay. Despite the natural disaster, he said he's OK.

"It was so dark -- I didn't know how to get out," he said. "As long as I got out of there alive, that's all that counts ... I just thought I had to get out of here, and I dug my way out somehow -- it's kind of a blur."

An EF-1 tornado struck Seadrift about 1:43 a.m. and traveled about a quarter of a mile on the north side of the city, said Kevin Wagner, National Weather Service meteorologist. City officials spent Thursday assessing the damage and assisting residents. Mayor Elmer DeForest estimated Thursday evening that the tornado destroyed nine homes, significantly damaged another and caused minor damages to seven. The numbers could change as officials continue to evaluate the destruction, he said.

For first-day coverage of storm, click here.

The mayor issued a state of emergency Thursday morning as well as a boil-water notice. Two-thirds of the city lost power when the tornado struck, and as of 5 p.m. Thursday, about a quarter of those affected still did not have power, DeForest said. He called off the boil-water notice about 3 p.m. after receiving approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Hurricane Harvey damaged between 400 and 500 homes of the 700 to 820 in Seadrift, which is about 50 to 60 percent of the town, DeForest said. The tornado came when the city was still recovering from the hurricane. Within weeks after Harvey, city officials spent reserve funds of a little more than $200,000 in cleanup efforts.

"We're supposed to eventually be reimbursed those funds from (Federal Emergency Management Agency), but the city has yet to receive any of these funds," he said. "So now we're starting this particular little disaster with very little funds to be able to do what we need to do."

Mileidy Anzaldua's mobile home was damaged by Hurricane Harvey and again by the tornado seven months later. The family had almost finished repairing the hurricane damage. Now the tornado took part of her roof and damaged most of the back of the home. The twister shook her home and broke windows, bringing in water and debris.

Mileidy Anzaldua's home pic.twitter.com/mrF7tVBWYV

-- Kathryn Cargo (@kathryncargo) March 29, 2018

Anzaldua, 35, her husband, their 5-year-old daughter, 11-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son huddled in the living room and prayed during Thursday's storm.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know how long it lasted. To me, it felt like forever," she said. "You're feeling that you're going to die at that moment. Even though you have the kids with you, you think, what do you do now? You can't save them from a tornado."

While they continue to repair their home, they'll have to stay in their living room as they did during hurricane repairs.

A few blocks from Martinez's destroyed small mobile home lives his 78-year-old sister, Emilia Pendergrass. A family travel trailer next to Pendergrass' home was blown apart by the tornado, struck her wall, busted out windows and ended in a pile of debris in front of her home.

She said it was her first time going through a tornado. In 2017, she endured an emergency triple bypass heart surgery and had kneecap surgery four months ago.

"It was terrible. I just cannot believe I went through this," she said. "I was scared. I had surgery a year ago -- I thought it was going to affect my heart. I tried to get strong and not think about it. I made it OK."

Pendergrass' family came to check on her after the tornado struck and stayed with her throughout Thursday. Anytime she needs them, they've always been there.

"I was right here in the kitchen praying, praying, you know 'Lord, please let this be over,' because I was scared," she said. "(Now), I'm safe."

Advocate reporters Jessica Priest and Marina Starleaf Riker contributed to this report.

Kathryn Cargo reports on business and agriculture for the Victoria Advocate. She may be reached at [email protected] or 361-580-6328. Follow her on twitter @kathryncargo.

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