MIDCITY, Texas — Tornadoes ripped through parts of Texas and Oklahoma Friday, leaving many families and homeowners trying to deal with the aftermath of the storm.
Lamar County, near the border of Texas and Oklahoma, was an area hit hard, including the unincorporated community called Midcity.
Landyn Roberts and his family have been living in Midcity for about three years now. Roberts, 17, was in his home with his mom, sister and dogs when the tornado was about to hit their neighborhood.
It wasn't until they got a call from a friend that they realized what was about to happen.
"She advised us to get inside the house because me and my mom were outside when this was all taking place," Roberts said.
The Lamar County Sheriff's Office and Emergency Management said the tornado touched down shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.
So Roberts and his family went into a closet.
"We were just like, 'oh man, it's coming,'" Roberts said. "The lights were flickering. And we were just like, 'this coming.'"
That's when Roberts said his mom stepped in to prepare them for what might happen.
"My mom was like, 'alright, grab the pillows,'" Roberts said. "We held them over my head, and we just heard rumbling. It sounded like a helicopter coming over our heads. We just felt sheetrock on our heads. And we all started saying the Lord's prayer, right here."
Thankfully, Roberts said while a large chunk of their home was destroyed, everyone inside the home when the tornado came through was safe.
"It was just really scary," Roberts said. "Just knowing that something that could take our house away and we could all go was right there was scary. "Really, just without having God's hands over us, I think it could have been a whole lot worse."
Roberts said once the tornado was gone, his first instinct was to go check on all his nearby neighbors to make sure they were OK as well.
"I was just like, 'I have to go help these people,'" Roberts said.
On Saturday, Roberts said many friends and family had already showed up to help with the cleanup and bring some food. He said he and his family will be staying with some family friends for the time being.
"Everyone's just trying to work together," Roberts said. "Just trying to clean up the best we can and just try to move on from this."