SWAYZEE — Clean up continues in Swayzee, just one week after an EF-2 tornado ripped through the small town last Friday.
The town is located about eight miles west of Marion in Grant County.
“It was the most terrifying 3 seconds of my life,” Kari Gear said.
Gear says she has called Swayzee home for the last six years. Last Friday night's storms are still weighing heavy on her mind.
“It was done and over with in seconds. The realization didn’t hit until Sunday,” Gear said.
Gear told WRTV that last Friday night was just a normal night for her and her husband. He had to get up early for work in the morning, so they decided to go to sleep earlier.
Gear recounts the moments when the tornado hit.
“My husband turned around, snatched me up and covered me up with his body. He protected me. The wall came down on top of us,” Gear said.
Gear will tell you that she still can’t process what happened that night. She just knows that she is thankful her husband was by her side.
“You can see the devastation to the neighborhood, so to be alive right now gives you perspective on how amazing it is that we made it,” Gear said.
Her home, like many others in this small are town, is unlivable. Gear walked WRTV through what’s left of it. Wednesday’s storm took out the rest of her roof.
“There are so many emotions going on right now. The sadness, the feelings of when I called out to my friends and my family,” Gear said.
Gear says her friends and family, along with the rest of the community, has really shown up for one another this past week.
“We are trying to figure out as much as we can and stockpile as much money as we can so we can get our own place. It's just going to take time,” Gear said.
And in that time she says she will find comfort in knowing that her family is by her side.
“You go back and forth with the sadness and the pure awe of love and support that we have gotten,” Gear said.
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