North Texas tornado survivors struggle to rebuild a year after deadly storm
Memorial Day weekend marks one year since a deadly EF-3 tornado tore through multiple North Texas counties, killing seven people.
CBS News Texas spoke to a Valley View couple who survived taking a direct hit from the storm. They said the biggest battle is getting the money needed to rebuild.
"We're still just doing cleanup stages," said tornado survivor Todd Smith.
Todd Smith and his wife, Lisa Smith, walked with CBS Texas crews through their family farm, where there were still piles of containers, toppled trailers and torn roofs, showing the year-long aftermath of the powerful tornado that tore across their land.
Last year, the couple told CBS Texas they were thankful to get out of their home alive.
"I just believe that God protected us and the bathroom because there is no reason why that door stayed closed," Todd Smith said.
According to the National Weather Service, the tornado was estimated as an EF-3 with 140 mile per hour winds. It tracked nearly 48 miles across Cooke, Denton and Montague Counties – killing seven people in Cooke County.
The Smiths lost most of their animals and had to stop operations at their farm. They said the emotions are still fresh a year later.
"Honestly, we didn't know what to think because all you could see was disaster." Todd Smith said.
"It was overwhelming," Lisa Smith said. "I miss it so much. I miss the farm. I miss my customers. I'm not going to get that back and I have to deal with that."
However, their trauma didn't end with the storm. The Smiths said that this past year has been a battle with insurance companies to get the money to rebuild, leaving them in limbo for at least six months.
"It was well over $1 million and damage is what our estimation was," Todd Smith said.
"We got the final check two days before Christmas. So from May to Christmas, we couldn't even do anything." Lisa Smith added.
Todd Smith said the other hidden obstacle is inflation, admitting they will only get about a 40% return on their loss due to rising housing costs.
"If you look at 2020 till now and the last five years, the cost of housing is doubled. Literally doubled. Then to be really upside down on your policy to where you can't build back to what you have, that's just like the nightmare icing on the cake," he said.
Earlier this month, a deadly EF-3 tornado tore through the middle of Saint Louis, Missouri, damaging nearly 5,000 buildings. An EF-4 also killed more than a dozen people across the state of Kentucky.
"To any other storm victims out there, don't let pride get in the way of people come in and help you," Lisa Smith said.
The Smiths said they have found a silver lining after a year-long struggle.
Todd Smith was able to use his tractor on their land for the first time recently, showing their farm can one day be turned into a grain and hay producer, giving them hope.
"For me, it was just a statement that [this is] not going to keep me down. We're going to turn the farm back around. We're going to get back into production," Todd Smith said with confidence.
The Valley View tornado was deemed the deadliest storm in North Texas in nearly a decade.
