IOWA, USA — Lynn Smith was watching Wednesday's storms from the front window of his home in Bayard. As the winds intensified, Lynn says he had to make a mad dash to the basement.
"I was standing by the windows right there and they just kind of bowed in a little bit," said Smith. "I took off running and as I turned around the island I dove down the steps."
He says the moment he dove down the steps, the ceiling came crashing down. His mom and wife, Deb, were already in the basement.
"It was amazing because I heard the crash the floor didn't even move above us," said Deb. "So we were very lucky that way. He was in the living room and kind of got thrown down the stairs. It was crashing in behind him."
The couple says they were trapped in their basement under the debris until their family could safely dig them out. Since then, they say friends and family have surrounded them with support.
"Everybody's fine. Everyone's OK," said Deb. "It's just another hurdle in life, you jump over it and keep on going."
Deb adds family antiques, including angels and other religious items, survived the storm unscathed.
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Meanwhile, in Jefferson, a family who spoke with Local 5 also has a lot of cleaning up to do. The father of the household said he is overwhelmed by how much the damage will cost.
He told Local 5's Samantha Mesa that he was in his car when the tornado swept through, keeping his eyes shut tight because he was afraid to see what the storm was doing to his property.
His kids were inside the house in the basement. They said it could take two weeks to get the power back on, so for now they are relying on a generator.