Church Remains Standing After 3 Tornadoes Rip Through Oklahoma Town With 'Golf Ball Sized' Hail
A Blanchard, Oklahoma, church was surprisingly left standing after three tornadoes ripped through the area with "golf ball sized" hail that leveled condos and displaced residents.
The onslaught of bad weather was a part of a series of some 20 tornadoes that romped through Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska Wednesday wreaking significant damage, according to The Weather Channel.
Despite the destruction left behind in Blanchard, residents say they were surprised the local Bridge Creek Church of Christ was still standing.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"[The church] wasn't destroyed but places around us were totaled," Bridge Creek Church member Ernie Landry told The Christian Post. "We've got some damage. I don't know how much. The insurance company will have to come out and look. [There's] some damage all the way around it."
Landry said about seven condos located in the vicinity of the church were destroyed. The area was also without electricity and many residents were still searching for shelter. Thankfully, however, there were no serious injuries or fatalities, according to Landry.
Bridge Creek is now accepting donations to help the families displaced by the tornadoes. Some six Bridge Creek families suffered damage to their homes.
"We're going to take donations. We're going to go and try to hand out stuff that they can use like shovels," Landry said. "With some immediate donations maybe we can help some of these people get in a hotel or motel for a while."
Bridge Creek will also offer water and shovels for victims visiting the church building.
"We hope to have some kind of plan set up here in the next couple of days," he continued.
Oklahoma City reported one fatality and 12 people sustaining serious injuries as a result of the tornadoes, according to Reuters. The Red Cross has also opened multiple shelters for Oklahoma victims with volunteers providing meals, snacks and cleaning supplies. Other volunteers will head out to assess the damage. In Nebraska, at least 10 homes were destroyed near Grand Island. Nine tornados were reported in Kansas with the strongest hitting the north-central part of the state.
