Taking Tornado Warnings Seriously: Tornado Survivor Glad He Listened to Authorities

Mike Green, a Little Rock, Arkansas resident, revealed his terrifying story of surviving the powerful EF3 tornado that severely damaged his home on Friday.

Green, who has lived in Little Rock's Stone Bridge area for eight years, has heard numerous tornado warnings, but until March 31, his home had never actually been struck by one.

Green was working in his home office on that particular day when he saw on the television that a wall cloud had developed over Little Rock.

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(Photo : Nikolas Noonan / Wikimedia Commons)

Taking Tornado Warning Seriously

Green told AccuWeather National Correspondent Bill Wadell, "I actually saw the wall cloud, so I took it seriously for the first time in my life. I took a tornado warning seriously."

The lifelong Little Rocker got up from his desk, snatched his phone and wallet, and dashed below to seek safety in his basement.

Green said, "I felt this was serious, and I had better get off my butt and get out of here and ran.

Green had intended to switch on the TV once he was in the basement to hear the weather, but before he could, a terrifying sound, like a freight train, started.

He was determined that hiding beneath a door and going as deep underground as possible was the best action plan.

Minutes later, while Green's house was being destroyed, the tornado's "rushing" roar started to get louder.

The Little Rock citizen claimed that the wind was screaming so loudly that he could not hear any destruction.

"The sound of the wind simply overpowers all other sounds. And it was probably less than five seconds," Green said, adding that he was astounded by how rapidly it occurred.

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After the Disaster

Green opened the door after the storm had passed and observed the damage the sizable tornado had inflicted. His house had sustained significant damage, and the surroundings were dusty.

He further said, "I was frightened to walk out because I wasn't sure whether it was over. There was simply like a smoke bomb had gone off."

The citizen sustained significant damage to the space he had been working on moments earlier. The room's door was ripped off and thrown behind a table. A sizable piece of the wall was torn down near where Green had been seated.

Green had observed the wall cloud from a window, but it was gone entirely and tought about how much worse off he would have been as he showed Wadell the damage.

He attributes his safety during the tornado to his basement and the meteorological reports.

Green remarked, "The weather guys have us warned full time, and the sirens are going off too.

Tornado Warnings

Four tornadoes triggered a tornado emergency on March 31; the EF3 tornado that tore through Little Rock was one of them.

These notifications are usually saved for exceptional circumstances where there is an immediate hazard to human life, a continuing threat to catastrophic damage, or both.

The largest tornado outbreak of the year to date resulted in at least 31 fatalities and at least 66 verified twisters.

Brick and cinder block walls enclosed the basement where Green took refuge.

The area was strong enough to protect Green despite the storm breaking some windows.

Green pondered whether she would ever be able to sleep upstairs once more.