LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) — Debby Mettler was in her Largo home on Wednesday when a tornado hit.
She said it looked like any normal day before the storm hit.
“It was sunny, it was nice out, you know we’ve been having so much rain,” Mettler said.
Then, the rain and wind picked up rapidly.
“I heard a loud noise hit the mobile home, so I got up to check it out. When I went into the living room and looked out the window, I saw pieces of the roof flying past, along with debris everywhere. I immediately realized it was a tornado,” Mettler explained.
Neighbor’s security camera footage, widely shared across the nation, captures the moment Mettler’s home is lifted by a tornado and then slammed back down in her neighborhood.
She was only concerned about her cat at first.
“We were running back and forth, and I was trying to catch her and then all of a sudden all hell broke loose,” Mettler said.
At first, she wasn’t aware of exactly what was going on.
“When the mobile home was lifted, I think I was thrown into the hallway. Surprisingly, I didn’t break my neck as I started doing somersaults. The tornado thrashed me against the walls of the bedroom,” Mettler recalled.
She suffered extensive bruising and some cuts.
“I was screaming. I didn’t know where my cat was,” Mettler said.
When the wind stopped, she was disoriented at first.
“When it was over, I was covered with a lot of debris in the bedroom, so I just laid there for a moment and thought, ‘How am I going to get out of this’,” Mettler said.
She managed to crawl out of her home and was soon helped by neighbors.
Largo firefighters soon arrived on scene to take care of her. They also found her cat, under a bed. She said the cat is still angry and hissing, but otherwise OK.
Her home though, is a total loss.
“That’s a goner. I don’t think I’ll ever live in a mobile home again,” Mettler said.
Mettler’s daughter has started a “GoFundMe” account to help her, because she says it won’t be easy for a 76-year-old woman to start over. The account can be found by clicking here.
