Oklahoma Family Starting from the Ground Up After Tornado Levels Home

By Charles Bassett, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Wednesday's severe storms didn't cause a lot of damage, but it did lead to a Stillwater couple losing everything.

Gala Matherly and Nick Dvorak took their young son and left for shelter just moments before the tornado struck.

They returned to find the home in pieces. The trailer was ripped from its foundation. Everything they owned was scattered in a heap of debris. Tall trees surrounding the property had limbs snapped off while others were completely uprooted.

"We heard that it hit west of Highway 51 and Country Club, so we came to see the damage and this is what we came home to," Dvorak said.

And there's not much left, just a few fixtures pulled from the rubble to remind them of what was here, including pictures of children growing up and one of a son overseas in the Army.

The family is living in temporary shelter for now. As for finding a new permanent place to live, they said they're unsure when that will happen.

"You see it on T.V., but you don't ever think it's going to happen to you and then it does and it's overwhelming," Dvorak said.

To make matters worse, the family does not have insurance.

A fund has been set up to help the family at any BancFirst location in the state under the "Nicholas Dvorak Tornado Relief Fund" fund.