Woman says parents concerned about more severe storms after home destroyed by EF-3 tornado
Nearly a week after a tornado devastated homes in Streator, Illinois, the risk of more severe storms left some residents worried. Some barely had a chance to recover.
The good news is that skies have since cleared, but for much of Wednesday morning and afternoon, residents in Streator, about 90 miles southwest of Chicago and already ravaged by an EF-3 tornado, were getting pummeled with rain.
For one couple, debris is all that's left after the storm.
Last Thursday, Gary and Roxanne Rymeck tried to take shelter in their closet when the house collapsed around them.
Gary was rescued from the rubble by a storm chaser and photographer. He suffered a broken ankle and torn bicep. Roxanne suffered some broken ribs.
The couple spoke with CBS Chicago's Joe Donlon about the storm, when it hit, and getting from underneath the rubble.
"We heard there was tornado warnings, and I hear the siren outside. And then we saw across the field like a funnel cloud, like swirling," Gary said.
"Our treadmill was underneath it on top of him.I pulled that off of him, and that's when I saw the top of his head. He was like buried alive. And then I just start screaming to the guy in the street 'Could you please come and help me? I can't lift this stuff off anymore,'" Roxanne said.
The couple's daughter, Jill Wokurka, says her parents are physically on the mend.
Her parents are currently staying at a hotel in Peru, but they couldn't help but worry about what was another risk of severe weather help rolling through Streator.
"My dad has a bit of PTSD right now. So, he's struggling with, you know, the storms coming, and you know he's been outside looking at the storm clouds worrying, you know, for what's to come, and they're both really worried about the town of Streator again, cause that town got hit pretty hard," Wokurka said.
She says her dad has surgery scheduled for Monday for his broken ankle. She added that her parents have talked about rebuilding in Streator, but they're taking things one day at a time.
