Tornado Victims Pick Up The Pieces

(CBS/AP)  People displaced by a devastating tornado that killed eight and sent at least a dozen others to hospitals returned Friday to their ravaged community as damage assessment teams came to help them so they could start cleaning up.

Four people remained in "very, very critical condition," Gov. Mike Easley said during a visit to the region.

The storm ripped through a cluster of trailers and an adjacent neighborhood of brick houses early Thursday morning in Riegelwood, where there are no tornado warning sirens. Officials closed the neighborhood overnight to prevent looting.

"Most of them didn't get the information. The biggest warning they got — they heard that train-like sound," Easley told CBS Early Show. "A lot of them did take cover in the center of the modular homes and it saved a lot of them, we think."

Darryl McNair said he was sleeping when the tornado picked up his mobile home and moved it 50 feet from its foundation.

"I heard a loud crash," McNair, 34, said during a break from picking through rubble. "I was in the bed. You could feel the house moving. I was in shock."

On Friday, he remained shaken.

"My whole life was in that house," he said, crying. "Everything that was me was in that house. How could you lose everything in so short a time? I struggled to get that stuff and now it's all out in the road like it was nothing."

McNair's home landed across the street in the front yard of Charles Faulk, who said the winds only appeared to have damaged his air conditioner and pulled a small deck from him home.

"I'm more than lucky. I'm blessed," said Faulk, 47. "This is the first time I've seen devastation like this. And I never want to see it again. It's hit home and it's real. We're all survivors. And we have to move on, pick up and keep going."

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[ezillyamused]

I live just outside St. Louis. I have been through 3 tornados and that is by far the most scared I've ever been. Hang in there N.C.! God knows what He's doing. Know that folks everywhere are praying for you and things will be better soon!

Well the skies have cleared and the rain and wind are gone, our only fear now is the Neuse River rising beyond flood stage, living next to it can be such a headache

[tinker3478]

We've only had high winds here with lots of trees down from this storm system. It seems to be about blown out. Bless you!

[elgraz]

Thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. The tornadoes just missed us this morning.
Calabash, NC

We are still receiving heavy down pours at this moment, 60 miles south of Raleigh NC, the ENTIRE yard is now a lake with more than 4 inches of water. This is the worst I have seen in our area since hurricane Floyd

[tinker3478]

Having lived through a killer tornado in East Texas twenty years ago, I can understand the bewilderment, terror, and sheer exhaustion these people are feeling at the moment. They will be finding damage and debris six months from now, looking for contractors to fix their houses will be a nightmare, and most wearisome of all will be fighting their insurance adjustors. God bless all you North Carolinians. Hang in there! it gets better.

[random_radar]

The anonymous manager of the daycare center that got everyone into the right place is a hero. When she got up in the morning, she didn't expect to be responsible for saving lots of lives, but she did the right thing. Heros are ordinary people who rise to the occasion when fate comes calling.