BARNSDALL, Okla. — A common thread tying recent tornado disasters together is neighbors helping neighbors.
2 News saw a lot of that in Barnsdall after a deadly tornado on May 6.
The damage was great at one family's home there—but the support was even greater.
Deanna Ravellette’s house was uprooted from its foundation, shifting eight feet back from the porch her dad built. Indoors, the floors sat at a slant and sagged under her footsteps.
After living in this house for her whole life, she told 2 News that Monday’s EF4 tornado damaged it beyond repair.
Ravellette’s daughter, Jessica Billingsley, told us how they helped pull people out of the rubble — and how she had to calm down their kids.
"That was very emotional, but," she said, pausing as she choked up, "it was OK… we were OK.”
“We're a small town. We have to do what we have to do,” Billingsley said.
It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for this family, something they share with many others in Barnsdall.
While a tornado can devastate a neighborhood, neighbors remain neighbors. In fact, it’s something bonding everyone together.
Person after person came to Ravellette’s yard to help clear debris and remove belongings from their house. Some even offered hugs and held their hands in prayer.
"We’ve got extended family that’s been here all day [Tuesday] from morning to dark,” she mentioned.
However, it was not just friends, family, or emergency crews who showed up in their time of need. Ravellette said that “people that we’ve never seen before" also heeded the call.
In spite of the devastation to her family home, Ravellette told us they will replace it with a new one.
"It’s our place. I’m not going anywhere," she emphasized. "[I was] born and raised here, and I’m staying here.”
It’s not just their home they’ve lost. Ravellette's uncle, Kenneth Wayne Hogue, went missing during the tornado.
She didn’t want to talk about that situation on camera. Authorities asked for the public's help in finding the man. The Osage County Sheriff's Office urged people with any information to call it at (918) 287-3131.
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