All language subtitles for In.the.Eye.of.the.Storm.S03E03.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY[EZTVx.to]

[reporter] We have
a catastrophic tornado.

Lives are being changed
right now.

Send some prayers.

[Ofc. Tyler speaking]

[Lt. Derek speaking]

[shattering, banging]

[witnesses speaking]

[screaming]

My name is Kyanna Lou Parsons.

I currently reside
in Mayfield, Kentucky.

I work at the candle factory
as a QA supervisor.

I'm on my way to work driving.
A friend calls me.

He says to me,
"You shouldn't go to work."

And I'm like, "What are
you talking about?"

And he says, "No, you ain't hear
about the weather?"

I'm telling him, I'm like,
"I'm going to work.

"It's Christmas time.

"I have to make this money.
I got these kids.

They want Christmas presents."

Walking in the building,
and it smells so good.

And I remember we were working
on Eucalyptus Mint.

It's still something that is
very much ingrained in my mind.

Man, it is warm, though.

It's hard to believe
Christmas Eve is two weeks away,

and we are still in the 70s.
I'm Chris Bruin.

I'm a meteorologist
for the Weather Channel.

Oftentimes, we think about
severe weather in the U.S.,

and it's in the springtime
when it gets warmer outside,

that's when we typically see
our severe storms.

This outbreak is unusual in
the fact it hit in December.

As we head into the late-night
hours, I just have this feeling

that something terrible
is about to happen.

[thunder rumbling]

[Chris] I just wrapped up
my last live shot,

and I go to the hotel room.
-[sirens wailing]

[Chris] The sirens are going off
outside the hotel room.

I take my phone out
and start to document.

Nocturnal tornadoes go from 0
to 200 or 300 miles per hour

in seconds.
-[thunder cracks]

The abruptness of it is why
they are so destructive.

[Ofc. Tyler speaking]

I'm on air and we hear word of
a tornado that has touched down

in northeastern Arkansas.
-There it is.

Boom, there you go!

This is the tornado
right there.

That is a tornado.

[Chris] A little after 9 PM,
the tornado emergency was

issued for Mayfield, Kentucky.

And when we talk about
a tornado emergency,

that's as bad as it gets.

That means a large and violent
tornado is on the ground

moving towards a city center
like Mayfield.

It's dark.
It's hard to even see.

You don't know what's coming.

[thunder cracking]

[emergency siren blaring]

[Chris and companion speaking]

[Chris]
I'm following the tornado's
progress live on radar

as it's developed
towards Mayfield.

I knew it wasn't gonna end well.

My name is Derek Vaughan.

I'm a lieutenant with
the Mayfield Police Department

in Kentucky.

I've seen reports of a very
large, significant tornado,

and it's coming in a direct
line towards Mayfield,

and it's moving incredibly fast.
It's intimidating.

I start parking vehicles
on the Northeast corner of

the Police Department building.

The structure will maybe shield
our cars from getting damaged.

I can see something in the sky

every time a flash of lightning
goes off.

I can see a large, dark object.

It just gets bigger.
There's a large tornado coming.

-[thunder rumbling]
-[wind howling]

[Lt. Derek]
Our police department has
a large basement underneath it

that is storm-rated.
That's going to be our shelter.

[doors trembling]

[Lt. Derek] We all make it down
into the basement.

We've got 30 people at least,
maybe more, in the basement.

I feel the wind, which is
so thick and heavy that

it's being like underwater.

And I don't know what's
happening around me.

[loud pop]

The only thing in my mind

is just fear at this point.

[thunder rumbles]

[shattering, banging]

[Lt. Derek] I can hear what
sounds like a bomb going off.

This may be it.
This may be the day that I die.

[clanging, rumbling]

We have a catastrophic tornado
that is in Mayfield right now.

Lives are being changed
right now.

Send some prayers for folks
that are dealing

with this right now.

I'm in this big,
huge warehouse.

There's about 50, 60 of us
at work.

-We could hear the thunder.
-[crackling]

Then all of a sudden,
my ears started to pop.

And I'm realizing
that it's more serious.

Next thing I know, I feel like
I'm lifted, and I sway right,

left, right, and then boom.

The whole building falls on us.

[indistinct cries]

This is it for me.

[thunder rumbling faintly]

My name is Joseph Siedel.

I was formerly a deputy jailer
for the Graves County Jail

in Mayfield, Kentucky.

When we saw the tornado coming
up towards Graves County,

we knew we were in trouble.

I was incredibly concerned
for all 93 inmate lives that

we have in there,
along with my coworkers.

My heart kind of went
into my stomach.

I have to make sure
that everybody is safe.

[loud banging, crashing]

[Joseph] The tornado is about
to come to the jail,

and these inmates are trouble.

[debris crashing]

[loud banging, crashing]

[Joseph] All of a sudden,
the ceiling had collapsed.

[sirens wailing faintly]

[Joseph] This is unreal.

The jail's been struck

with 93 inmates inside.

[sirens continue
wailing faintly]

[Joseph] It's overwhelming.

I see extensive damage to
the ceilings, to the hallways.

There's debris on the floor.
There's concrete on the floor.

The facility is
incredibly unstable.

Our main priority was
the safety of my coworkers,

the safety of the inmates,
hoping that everybody's OK.

I have to wait a few agonizing
minutes before I can safely

make sure that the storm
has passed.

We start making our way back
up, and we realize the door is

now jammed shut,

and we're not able
to get it open.

[Lt. Derek] The wind coming down
the hallway has created

this suction on the door.

We had to, you know,
break our way out.

[indistinct chatter]

[bleep]

[chatter continues]

[Lt. Derek] And as we get out
and we emerge from the basement,

we see just
completely destroyed.

I'm just shocked.
I'm in disbelief.

[Lt. Derek groans] Ah.

[Lt. Derek] The first thing
I can think of is, I have

to check on my family.

I was able to get in touch
with my wife.

She assured me her
and the kids were fine,

and that they were safe,
and that I could focus on doing

what I needed to do.

[man] Hey, this car is back here
piled up against...

[wind howling loudly]

[Lt. Derek speaking]

[Lt. Derek] People coming
in inside the police station

to take immediate shelter.

I can see that there's a lot of
very frightened people looking

to us for help.
-[man] Come on!

[Lt. Derek speaking]

[indistinct radio chatter]

[indistinct chatter]

[Lt. Derek]
I'm making sure everyone is
OK, making sure they're safe.

Once I've determined everyone
is OK, I'm beginning to go

through the checklist in
my head of people to notify.

This is the most destructive
tornado that I've ever

experienced in my life.

I'm getting a report now that
the jail by the courthouse

is also damaged.

They need immediate assistance
to maintain control of

the inmate population there,
to ensure that no inmates

escape out into the chaos.

I can't let my guys down.
I travel to the jail myself.

[sirens wailing]

[Lt. Derek speaking]

[Lt. Derek]
The jail is compromised.

They need assistance
maintaining that and evacuating

them to get them to safety,
and to make sure

that they do not escape.

As I get there, I can see
that the greater structure is...

completely devastated,

barely standing in places.

I'm in disbelief.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Ofc. Tyler] The tornado has
completely destroyed the jail

that housed around 100 inmates
that night.

It's a very nerve-wracking
to get that call.

You just prepare for anything.

It was catastrophic.

They had holes that they could
see in the building.

The walls were cracked.

[indistinct]...the church.

[indistinct chatter continues]

[Ofc. Tyler]
We knew the jail wasn't safe.

We had to get the inmates
somewhere else.

[Lt. Derek] The last thing
I want is for dangerous inmates

to get out into the community.

My level of anxiety is
certainly going up

at this point.

This large tornado
is still on the ground.

[Joseph speaking]

[Joseph] It's an extremely
complex situation.

I was incredibly concerned.

We need to check on the inmates
and make sure that they're all

out of their cells
and they're safe.

We house anybody from
misdemeanors to felons,

but they are all humans and they
all need taken care of.

We'll go, I'll need to see --

[overlapping chatter]

You know, the inmates starting
to get everybody's attention

saying, "Hey, you know,
there's something going on.

There's some type of
medical emergency."

The inmates are on the floor
in the hallway.

A fellow coworker,
he begins CPR.

He did not look good.

I noticed that he has a pulse.

And then we figured out a way
to get him to the hospital.

-[inmate] OK.
-[Joseph speaking]

Step just a little down.
There's a stick right there.

So I took custody of him,

we got in my car,
and I took him to the hospital.

[Joseph speaking]

[Lt. Derek] We've loaded
the inmates into buses to ensure

they get to another
secure facility.

[indistinct radio chatter]

I'm getting further reports
from my various officers

who have now dispatched
all over town,

trying to assess what's damaged.

[Jean] A confirmed tornado,
a violent tornado,

a potentially deadly tornado,
and it is moving at around

60 miles per hour in
the northeasterly direction to

the northeast of Mayfield.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Lt. Derek]
One of the reports comes in.

[Kyanna and others speaking]

[Lt. Derek]
The candle factory has taken
a direct hit from the tornado.

Tremendous fear really sets in.

[woman screaming]

[reporter] This is a very urgent
situation right now in

Mayfield, Kentucky
at this candle factory.

We know right now,
on the ground,

rescue efforts are underway.

Bodies and people are
being pulled.

When the building came down,
it came down on me.

-[indistinct cries]
-[Kyanna] I'm stuck.

[Lt. Derek] The candle factory
has taken a direct hit from

the tornado and is
completely leveled...

with possibly over 100
employees trapped inside.

All I can think about is I gotta
try to do whatever I can to

get these people out.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Ofc. Tyler]
You just see a ball of rubble,

and you just climb in it
and you start looking around,

you know, looking for any signs
of life, listening for screams

of help --
people are trapped.

It's a race against time.

-[woman #1] I don't know.
-[woman #2 speaking]

[Kyanna] We're all laying,
we're all on the ground.

About 50, 60 of us, I am...

scared.

I still held onto my phone.

The silence, the noise,
hearing those screams,

all those things are just
making me more anxious

and more scared.

I get on Facebook live to keep
myself calm.

[siren wailing]

[Lt. Derek and woman speaking]

[Lt. Derek] I'm on scene
speaking to several individuals

who either work there or know
people that work there.

They're just in tears.

I've never seen anything
to this scale of destruction.

[indistinct chatter]

There's just this tremendous...

sense of fear for the people
that are trapped inside

that structure.

It's still raining
at this point.

Water is probably raining down
all these people trapped.

They're probably
freezing, suffering.

[Kyanna] I started thinking,
I'm not gon' make it.

Now I'm starting to worry
about my children.

I have five children.

I am thinking that I may not
see them again.

[Kyanna and others speaking]

[siren chirps]

[Kyanna] When finally they did
come to rescue us,

I was the very last person
to get out.

And now I'm standing on rubble.

You would not believe
that anyone survived.

[sirens wailing faintly]

-[rain hissing]
-[thunder clapping]

This tornado is going unseen,
barreling and destroying

everything across its path.

And you have to be in
your safe place.

This tornado is just
dangerous and deadly.

I'm Courtney Stewart.

I'm a mom of nine, and I'm
from Bremen, Kentucky.

We've always had
storms, always.

But we've never been
in any sort of tornado.

[thunder cracking]

I just could feel it
in my bones

that something wasn't right.

I was watching TV.

They said the storms were
gonna be really bad.

My husband goes
outside to check.

His face, when he came in,
was obvious

that something was wrong.

The tornado's coming.

I mean, you could just hear it,
almost like a train,

just really loud.

I'm trying to grab all the kids
I can get in my hand

and go get in the car.

We knew if we stayed that
we wouldn't have made it.

[Courtney] I know!

[Courtney and husband continue]

[Courtney screaming]

[screaming continues]

[Courtney] The stuff that was
hitting the car almost felt like

it was being shot at.

[muffled screaming
and clattering]

Everything happened so fast,
it just didn't seem real.

You know, we survived in that
car, but it was the worst night

ever of my entire life.

There's been more tornado
warnings that have popped up,

and so we're gonna zoom out
to just show you how large

this system is.

This is really tracking,
you know, about

two lines of storms.
-Yeah.

Seventy eight tornado warnings
so far already this evening.

[Chris]
There's another threat coming.

I'm watching this
tornado-warned storm on radar,

and I'm very concerned
because it seems to be

intensifying in Arkansas.

[reporter]
This is from Jonesboro,
Arkansas, and so this is,

I believe, a video that's
confirming, yes,

you can see that tornado.

Jean, I couldn't even see
the tornado until

the lightning flashed.

[thunder cracking]

[Jordan speaking]

My name is Jordan Hall,

and I'm a full-time
storm chaser.

[Scott speaking]

I'm with my buddy, Scott.

It's way more dangerous chasing
at nighttime, because you can

only see this tornado when
the lightning illuminates.

I knew it was a very
strong tornado.

[Jordan speaking]

The initial feeling in my gut
is fear.

This is what it's all about.

So I just pointed my camera

to the southwest
and started rolling.

[sirens wailing]

We get on the highway,
and our plan is to let

this tornado cross the road
as close as possible,

but safely in front of us.

All it takes is 30 seconds
to be off on radar

to really get yourself hurt.

We realized this tornado's
actually coming directly at us.

[Jordan and Scott speaking]

[sirens wailing]

We're right in the path of
this tornado, and we're flying

backwards, trying to get out
of the way.

[Jordan and Scott speaking]

I see it's going towards
the small town of

Monette, Arkansas.
People are in danger.

As we got into town,
that's when we come

across the damage.

It was like a war zone.

The former firefighter
in me is like,

"We gotta do search and rescue."

I began hearing the screams
for help.

[woman and Jordan speaking]

[Jordan] It's an elderly home.

[residents and Jordan speaking]

[Jordan] I made my way back out
into the parking lot

where residents had
been rescued.

That's somebody's mom.
That's somebody's grandpa.

And it gets really hard
to hide your emotions.

It's heartbreaking.

And that's when I started
thinking about my own family

and ended up crying
a little bit.

I had never experienced
anything like that.

[reporter]
As we continue to update this,
we'll see that debris tracker

right over Barnsley, Kentucky.

And so, when you have
these towns, that means it can

pick up even more debris
as it moves through

and create even more damage.

[Chris] There was still
an active tornado.

People are going to die
if they don't take

the threat seriously.

My name is Trent Arnold.

I'm a former deputy with Hopkins
County Sheriff's Office.

[sirens wailing faintly]

[Trent speaking]

[Trent] Deputy Troy Blue and I,
we began searching

these residences and looking
for anybody that may need help.

Our flashlight's the only
light that we have,

and we're looking around.

There's no houses
there anymore.

There's debris everywhere.

I thought to I tell myself,
this is bad, like

there's gonna be
some people hurt.

[man speaking through radio]

[Troy]
We're hearing on the radio that
we're looking for two infants.

It puts you in shock.

This is a disaster.

We hear somebody scream
in the distance.

Trent and I take off
to the sound.

[Trent] We kind of push up
what feels like a wall.

We revealed a bathtub.

[over radio] White male.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Troy] Hey, oh, my --
[indistinct].

Move easy.
Hey!

Move easy.

[baby cries]

[Trent speaking]

Both of these children were
right there in the front yard,

but covered in debris.

[man and Trent speaking]

[Troy] Hey --
[yells indistinctly]

As I picked this child up,
hearing those cries,

it's a sense of relief.

[Trent] You have to have hope
in that moment

that you may get to reunite
this child with their family.

Minutes before this,
she thought that

she had lost everything.

-[woman yelling]
-[Trent speaking]

[woman] Oh God --
[continues indistinctly]

I was the guy in
the truck up the hill.

[baby crying]

We were able to reunite
these kids with the grandmother,

they made it through in nothing
more than a bathtub,

some blankets, and a Bible.

It was nothing short of
a miracle that both of

these children made it
through this event unharmed.

The tornado is still ongoing
through so much of western

and southern Kentucky.

Continues to track towards
the northeast, towards the town

of Dawson Springs.

It's becoming
increasingly violent.

My name is John Martin.

I live with my wife,
Desiree, and my two kids,

Shayla and Jeremy.

I'm worried about this storm.

I'm watching this
heading our way.

I don't want them to worry.

I don't like to tell them
anything, you know,

bad's coming, unless I think,
well, it's time.

They're gonna have
to be prepared.

[reporter speaking]

[John speaking]

Suddenly, I hear
the sirens go off.

[sirens wailing]

[John]
My wife, she's in a wheelchair.

I tell Shayla to go ahead
and get her mom, go ahead

and take her into the bathroom,
because it seems to be

the safest place in the house.

Power goes out.

There's an emergency light
we have in the bathroom,

and I switch that on.

I just hear this low
rumbling noise.

[rumble]

It's hard...
the next part.

Yeah, give me a minute.

[ominous music builds]

[Lt. Derek speaking]

Reports are coming in that
this second tornado is coming

through and that we really
only have minutes before it

gets here.
We need to get some shelter.

[Lt. Derek speaking]

I've got minutes to make some
very hard choices that could

result in people
living or dying.

[glass shattering]

We're breaking into a bank
and we're police officers that

keep people from breaking
into banks.

[Lt. Derek]
I'm one of the officers

still checking
the meteorology reports

when I hear that
the second tornado is now going

to miss us completely,

and I just kind of let out
a breath of relief.

The walls are shaking,
like we're in some

kind of an earthquake.

This is the tornado.

I knew it was coming.

[loud rumbling]

I just look up,
and there's just

a complete blackness.

There's debris coming in...

mixed with insulation,
and then suddenly,

it's just complete silence.

[Desiree speaking]

[John] I'd say that
this was everything

that I didn't expect.
We came out unscathed.

And I noticed
half our house is gone.

I really couldn't believe it,
hard to believe that we were

actually in that bathroom.

When you look at the damage.

How...

just simple wood and drywall
kept us alive

when brick houses
just disappeared.

I don't even really know
how to explain that,

I'm just lucky.

This tornado outbreak produced
71 tornadoes within 24 hours,

not only wiping homes
and communities off the map,

but taking lives as well.

[melancholic music playing]

There's so much damage.
It's hard to...

Visuals don't even do
it justice.

It really played out
even worse than we feared.

[Chris speaking]

[Chris] It's so overwhelming,

and as far as the eye can see,
it's just sheer devastation.

I've never seen anything
like that.

Mayfield...

always will...

come back to me.
It'll always be a staple

um, as to how damaging
a tornado can be.

[melancholic music continues]

God must have something else
planned for me

that he kept me here.

But my heart goes out
to those families.

I was blessed that night.

Everything could've fallen
down on me, but it didn't.

So I'm grateful.

Seeing the people that got
impacted by the storm

and the families that had lost
a loved one during the storm

really left a dent on how
I view nighttime tornadoes.

[wind blowing]

[John] We came out unscathed.

Everybody was fine, even the dog
was fine [chuckles].

All I could think
about, really,

even to this day, I think
of all the people...

that didn't make it.
-[Courtney] Got your flower?

I found out a few days later
that I was pregnant.

And so...

out of something bad,
it was good [chuckles].