Surviving the Storm Alone

One twelve year old girl knew exactly what to do to keep herself safe. She followed basic tornado safety instructions and weathered the storm with only a cell phone by her side. Jessica Gillenwater`s family considers themselves lucky in more ways than one. Jessica was home alone while her parents were off at work. She says she heard the wind start howling. Jessica said, "It just got real windy and started raining. It sounded like the door was going to blow off." That`s when she decided to head to the bathroom. The Gillenwater`s live in a one story home without a basement. She said, "I came in the bathroom, locked the door, sat down and called my mom." Jessica`s mom was at work in Kansas City when she got the frantic phone call. Monica Gillenwater said, "At first I thought she was overreacting but I`m glad she did what she did." In daylight Monica could see just how serious the situation could have been. Monica said she couldn`t tell how bad the damage was the night before because power was out. The Gillenwater`s are lucky that Jessica made it safely through the storm, but their also lucky because destruction narrowly missed their house. Their neighbors home that`s just a couple hundred of feet away was completly destroyed. Large chunks of wood and metal are all that`s left of a three story mobile home. Shingles and siding were ripped from the Gillenwater`s home. There are also two very large holes near the roof of the home. Contractors and an insurance agent are already working on the home, but the one thing Monica worries about the most needs no repairs. Monica said, "I`m just thankful that my kids are all okay and the house is repairable."