WILLCOX, Ariz. — A tornado hit Willcox Monday night, toppling power lines, trees, and damged homes. Speeds reached up to 100 miles per hour.
It started out as a relaxing night for Vickie Brown. She was with her daughter and dog on the couch, watching television. But that quickly changed when the storm outside started to pick up.
"We heard the wind and the rain, and it just came fast," she said.
She's talking about the tornado that struck near her mobile home in Willcox.
"We just heard hail, a big crack of lightning," Brown said. "And then all of a sudden, it started moving, and we knew it was going to flip. We just huddled on the couch, my daughter and myself. And we grabbed the dog, and all huddled together. And it just threw us."
Before she knew it, the mobile home flipped. Then came chaos.
"We were just like in the middle of the trailer, and water was coming in, we were standing in water," Brown said. "We couldn't find the cellphone. We were looking for hers, we were looking for mine. We had no light."
Emergency crews were finally able to get Brown and her daughter out. She says they are grateful to only have bumps and bruises.
JUST IN: @NWSTucson confirms a tornado touched down in Willcox last night, with speeds between 90 and 100 mph. https://t.co/mLDLSFfAeE
— Natalie Tarangioli (@ntarangioli) September 24, 2019
"We're very blessed that our injuries weren't really bad, and that we survived," she said.
Brown grew up in Ohio. She says she never expected to experience her first tornado in Arizona.
"Moving here you're just like, really? Here? a tornado? But yeah, I'm just grateful it wasn't worse than what it was."
The Red Cross is helping out those who were displaced from the tornado, including Brown. She says she hopes she will be able to salvage a few things from what's left of her home.
