Volunteers provide relief when tornado hits North Texas

Posted: 4/16/07

Volunteers provide relief
when tornado hits North Texas 

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

HALTOM CITY—As tears streamed down her face, Ruth Gunson found relief after a tornado, thanks to volunteers from Texas Baptist Men Disaster Relief and Victim Relief Ministries.

Gunson and her family are trying to pick up the pieces after a tornado uprooted trees and sent limbs more than five-feet in circumference into her house, leaving two gaping holes in its roof. 

“We have no electricity and no insurance, but we’re alive,” Gunson said.

Haltom City storm victim Ruth Gunson sheds tears as Texas Baptist Men remove storm damage and Victim Relief Ministries offer comfort after an April 13 tornado hit North Texas.

High winds, severe storms, heavy rain and a tornado killed two people and damaged more than 150 homes in Tarrant County.

Haltom City, just north of Fort Worth, experienced some of the worst damage. The storm left two churches in shambles, tore roofs off homes and heavily damaged a grocery store. Gunson, her husband and their 17-year-old daughter live in a house located almost directly behind the supermarket.

“We were watching Channel 4, and I saw (the tornado) … was going to hit the (Texas Motor Speedway) racetrack. I told my daughter to call her friend and warn him, because he was there,” Gunson said. “As soon as she got on the phone with him, I looked out the window and all of sudden it hit … real quick.”

She remembers shutting a back window, then running towards the front of the house to shut one there.

“But we didn’t have time. I ran back to the bedroom and pulled a mattress over us, and then my husband reached around for another mattress, and it was over,” she recalled.

Frantic and worried about her other children who were not at home, Gunson couldn’t get a phone signal to find out.

The day after the tornado, Gunson’s daughter stood on the street holding an empty plastic cereal container with a sign that read “Donations for Family.” Many motorists stopped to donate money for the family, who lack insurance.

The family found solace and hope in a team of Texas Baptist Men volunteers who spent hours strategically working to remove the huge tree limbs from their rooftop and cover the holes. Victim Relief Ministry chaplains assisted with clean-up efforts and provided counseling and pizza for the displaced family.

A volunteer team from Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall led by Joel Bachman worked atop damaged roofs removing huge tree limbs that dangled precariously. With climbing gear and special protective clothing, Bachman and teammate Ken Hull carefully maneuvered the trees down to the ground safely before sawing the wood into smaller sizes that volunteers could help remove.

The Sunday after the tornado touched down in Haltom City, more Texas Baptist Men volunteers moved in to help other storm victims.

“We had about 25 TBM volunteers turn out to help from Collin and Dallas Baptist Associations, including Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving,” said Gary Smith, TBM disaster relief director, noting volunteers from Tarrant Baptist Association also helped. “They manned chainsaws and helped families in Tarrant County remove tree limbs and other debris from the neighborhood.”