Despite being flung into the air and thrown into the woods, a woman hiding in a bathtub managed to survive. Not only that, she was unharmed!
Photo: Washington Post
OKLAHOMA – 19 people were killed when a violent tornado carved a 13-mile path in east Texas, near the border with Louisiana. However, a woman who was taking shelter from the tornado in a bathtub miraculously survived.
The National Weather Service forecast office in Shreveport, La., reported on Monday night (23 Jan 2017) that the thunderstorm was shocking. An 800-yard-wide tornado with winds of 130 mph tore off the roof of a storage building and tossed a party barge 200 yards into the forest.
Nonetheless, the jaw-dropping damages were not as unbelievable as this: A woman, who was inside the tornado, took shelter in a bathtub. Although the bathtub was lifted up and thrown into the trees, the woman miraculously remained in the tub and was uninjured.
The only thing she remembers is that the tornado came in from the southwest across her home. At that point the whole backside of her house was sheared off. Her bath tub was ripped out of her bathroom and she ended up still in her tub in some woods near her home.” Jason Hansford, the senior meteorologist
Jason Hansford, the senior meteorologist who conducted the storm survey, spoke to the woman after learning what happened.
“She heard the tornado warning come out and she took cover in the tub in her bathroom,” he said. “The only thing she remembers is that the tornado came in from the southwest across her home. At that point the whole backside of her house was sheared off. Her bath tub was ripped out of her bathroom and she ended up still in her tub in some woods near her home.”
Hansford did not know exactly how far the tornado flung the woman in her 60s. Except for a few minor cuts and cruises, the woman was “uninjured but emotionally shaken,” he said, adding that her house was destroyed.
Meteorologists often advise people to take shelter in a bathtub during a tornado, a heavy and typically sturdy object.
“The bathroom has strong framing and the pipes in the walls could help hold them together, according to Tornadoproject.com,” wrote AccuWeather in 2011. “The bathtub and commode are directly anchored to the ground. They are often the only things left intact after a tornado passes.”
Besides the woman, there are also several others who have survived violent tornadoes by taking shelter in bathtubs.
Other reports regarding the storm, however, were not so optimistic. Near Burkeville, Tex., a 25-yard wide tornado with 105 mph winds moved across a field, “picking up a deer feed and watering device,” the storm survey said. “As the device flew through the air, it decapitated a deer, killing it.”