Tornado leaves trailers overturned, destroyed in Milam

MILAM, Texas (KETK) – Wednesday, the National Weather Service is out surveying the damage and confirming the suspected tornado that tore through parts of the Toledo Bend Reservoir.

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“It sounded like a freight train, that’s what everybody says,” Ronnie Greer, Holly Marina owner, said.

Greer has lived in the city of Milam in Sabine County her whole life but said Monday’s storm was a close call.

“It just lasted a few seconds it was over before it started and I couldn’t believe that all this had happened in such a short amount of time,” Greer said.

Wednesday, the National Weather Service team out of Shreveport began surveying the damage and the storm’s path through the Toledo Bend.

“After getting down here we decided there is evidence there was a tornado in this area, the preliminary rating is an EF1 with winds up to 110 miles per hour,” Brandon Thorne, NWS Shreveport Meteorologist, said.

Greer is one of the owners of Holly Marina on the Toledo Bend Reservoir. After more than 50 years there, she can hardly believe the damage was done in just a matter of seconds.

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“Well what about the marina, it’s gone the one we just built about 8 years ago, the fish house, the fish house it was gone. Nothing but slab and a couple of cinder blocks,” Greer said.

Members of the community said that the biggest blessing is that the tornado only hit the trailers with no one in them.

“I saw all those trailers turned over I mean you couldn’t believe how fast it all happened, we feel like there was miracle after miracle that everybody was alright,” Greer said.

Residents said they’re working on cleaning up and getting back to normal, counting their blessings and appreciating their neighbors.

“We were just all praying and after it was all over thanking God that we were saved there were so many narrow scrapes like that door coming open,” Greer said.

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