Couple Moves To Oklahoma, Narrowly Misses Deadly Joplin Tornado

Dana Hertneky, News 9

EDMOND, Oklahoma -- It was a close call for an Oklahoma couple who moved out of Joplin, Missouri, just hours before the tornado destroyed their apartment.

"We've had several people tell us they're pretty convinced we wouldn't have survived where our apartment was, so that feels surreal," said Amy Fine.

Fine graduated from Missouri Southern University on Saturday and decided to move that same day.

"What if we hadn't decided to move that day? What if we canceled for a 100 different reasons? There wasn't one thing that made us move that day. I was just ready to move."

"I wanted to stay, I felt rushed," said Amy's husband Derek. "We paid rent for the rest of the month but I'm glad I went with her plan."

On Sunday, as they were starting to unpack in Edmond, they learned what happened to the place they called home for the past three years.

"I had a friend text message me and say are you okay?" Derek said.

And even though they are all right, Amy and Derek say many of their friends and neighbors lost their homes and there are more they haven't been able to reach.

"There's a lot of people we don't know about or if they're still safe," said Amy.