PLEASANT HILL, Iowa — As crews work to clean up damage and debris from Friday's tornado, neighbors in Pleasant Hill are doing what they can to help one another.
Three days have passed, but the chaos and commotion of the storm are still fresh in their minds.
"I heard a loud boom, and then just glass breaking," said Rose Ostrand, who has lived in Pleasant Hill since 1971. "I knew I'd been hit."
Ostrand's home was one of many that sustained major damage. Her front yard and garage were completely wiped out; a branch from her oak tree pierced the side of her home.
"When I got a chance to go back upstairs, I looked out my patio window and saw my garage with no garage," she told Local 5.
In those 51 years, Ostrand has never seen such catastrophic damage as what happened Friday night. She lives alone, but next-door neighbor Tyler Luft rushed over after the storms to make sure she was okay.
"After the tornado passed, Tyler comes and gets me. He walks me through all the debris by my house, and he's got me by the arm,"
Ostrand and Luft have lived side-by-side for nearly a decade. The two share a special bond that has now grown even stronger.
"Once I knew my wife and kids were okay, I wanted to make sure she was okay too," Luft said.
Cleanup in the neighborhood could take days or even weeks, but these neighbors will get through it by leaning on one another,
"Tyler and his family have been helping me a whole lot," Ostrand said. "I don't know what I'd do without them."