An Oklahoma man suffered a broken neck after being felled by the devastating tornado that tore through his hometown over the weekend.
Austin Thompson was rushing for shelter in downtown Sulfur, a city of about 5,000 people, when a tornado began to tear through the city Saturday night.
“When I open the door, I take a few steps and say, ‘Shit, I’m not going to make it 15 feet to the shelter,'” Thompson. he told Koco Noticias.
“So I turned around to go back in through the door I came out of, and as soon as I tried to do that, I remember hearing the sound of being pushed underwater,” he explained from his hospital bed.
“The sound was like a ‘whoosh,’ and then I remember being hit on the ground,” he said, but he couldn’t remember what hit him.
Austin Thompson suffered a C6 and C7 neck fracture, as well as a broken nose and a two-inch cut on his chin that required thirty staples to close.
Sulfur, a city of about 5,000 people, was devastated by a tornado Saturday night
Four people died and three hundred were injured in the weekend of extreme weather in the state
Thomson managed to get inside and waited out the devastation.
His friends then helped him get to Artesian Hospital, where he learned he had a C6 and C7 neck fracture, as well as a broken nose and a two-inch cut on his chin that required thirty staples to close.
Neck fractures are likely to heal in about six weeks.
Thomson was one of nearly three hundred people who were injured during the weekend of extreme weather in the state.
In total, four people in the state died, including a baby, sixty-two people suffered cuts or punctures, seventy-seven were injured after a fall, seven suffered injuries from poisoning, fifty-nine were hit by or against something, and fifty and six were road injuries, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
At least twenty-two tornadoes are known to have touched down in Oklahoma over the weekend, and the one that hit Sulfur was one of the most powerful, according to the National Weather Service.
The Sulfur tornado was rated EF3 or higher, meaning it was powerful enough to uproot large trees, remove roofs and knock down walls from well-built homes, and easily toss cars and heavy vehicles.
It became even more dangerous because it occurred after 10 p.m., according to National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Smith.
“It’s human nature to want to see the tornado before acting, and you won’t be able to see them at night” Smith he told the associated press.
The Sulfur tornado was rated EF3 or higher, meaning it was powerful enough to uproot or break large trees, remove roofs and knock down walls from well-built homes, and easily toss cars and heavy vehicles.
The tornado was even more dangerous because it arrived after 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Downtown Sulfur has been largely devastated with cars and buses knocked down, many roofs torn off of buildings and others swept away.
Downtown Sulfur has been largely devastated with cars and buses knocked down, many roofs torn off of buildings and others swept away.
Many large trees in the city park were uprooted and splintered with branches thrown far and wide creating obstructions on roads and inside homes.
‘How is it rebuilt? “This is total devastation,” Kelly Trussell, a lifelong Sulfur resident, told the Associated Press.
‘It’s crazy, you want to help, but where do you start?’
Oklahoma was one of the hardest hit states along with Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said at a news conference in Sulfur on Sunday, “You can’t believe the destruction.” It seems that all the downtown businesses have been destroyed.
Stitt also issued a statement Sunday morning: ‘My prayers are with those who lost loved ones when the tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma last night.
“Thank you to Oklahoma Emergency Management and those who worked through the night to keep Oklahomans safe and worked to clear debris and assess damage.”
Stitt has also declared a state of emergency in 12 counties as crews work to remove debris and assess damage caused by the severe storms that downed power lines.