A tornado touched down in Lindale on Saturday, December 12 causing damage to homes and property.  LHS student, Avery McMurray, was at home when her house was damaged by the storm.

     “I was laying down in my bed and the power went out and I heard my mom say something like ‘Oh-it’s fine,” McMurray said.  “They [her mother and brother] were standing out here by the  door. And the wind was going real heavy; it started to get really loud and it sounded like a train. She told my brother to go to the bathroom because the rain started falling sideways. I didn’t hear her and was still laying in my bed at this point. By the time I had gotten up to see what was going on, I was walking through the living room and the roof started coming off. I started running and then I got in the bathroom. The minute she shut the door, it was done.”

    McMurray’s home sustained severe damage.  After the storm passed, the roof to the kitchen and living room was completely destroyed with debris scattered across the backyard and onto the neighbor’s property.   The garage also sustained heavy damage.

    “The garage door was down and the next thing we knew, the bricks were gone and the garage door was folded and on top of my mom’s car,” McMurray said.

  Afterwards, citizens of Lindale have pulled together to show support and offer help.

   “My friend Ashlynn Brown has helped me.  I basically live with her now because we don’t really have a place to stay.  Her family took me in.”

    Since the damage was so severe, multiple groups have offered to help.  

   “They [the Lindale community] are just being really supportive and helping us get the stuff we need, and are praying for us,” McMurray said.  “My mom’s coworkers started a GoFundMe account.  Ashlynn’s parents have bought me new clothes and shoes because I had to leave my shoes in the house.  The teachers have all been coming to ask me what size I wear because they said they’d donate clothes for me.  They’re all being really supportive.”