One of those who survived the Parkersburg tornado on Sunday says he’s lucky to be alive. Dana Anderson is still in a Cedar Falls hospital after suffering a leg injury in the storm.
Anderson had just eaten supper with his sister when the sirens went off. They headed to the basement, but he’s actually glad he didn’t make it there. "I told my sister, ‘We’ve got to quick get to the basement,’ and I was down the steps to the landing. She was behind me, she was still in the kitchen coming down, and the back door flew open. It’s was like nature’s fury unleashed," he says. "…It was probably a good thing we didn’t get to the basement because most of the house ended up in the basement."
The tornado apparently twisted the house in midair and plunked it back down. "It felt like the whole house was falling on me and apparently what happened — the house lifted up off the foundation and moved, you know, six or eight feet and turned a little bit and then came back down," he says, "and that all happened with my right leg in between the door frame and some steps and some steps actually wrapped around my leg so it broke my leg right below the knee in three spots."
Anderson is still amazed by how quickly the tornado was moving. "It was on us so fast. I mean, I just remember loud…It looked like half the world was blowing in…and then everything went black and it was quiet," Dana says. "…We started yelling for help and the neighbors were there within just a few minutes. They brought in saws and everything else."
Anderson’s sister sustained only minor injuries, but he will remain in a Cedar Falls hospital for another four or five days.