What would you do if you saw a tornado heading straight to your town?
Mother Nature has shown time and time again that her power should be respected.
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And through these natural disasters, people rise up to be each other’s heroes and saviors, showing the best humanity has to offer.
One weatherman was being lauded for his conduct during a tornado crisis.
Residents of Amory, Mississippi, were all tuned in to the local news weather segment.
Right outside, the clouds gather in a thick dark mass.
High winds, severe weather, and a chance of tornadoes are not uncommon on this side of the country.
But at that moment, people knew something was different.
Matt Laubhan, the chief meteorologist at WTVA, was reporting the weather situation.
The channel, an affiliate of NBC in Tupelo, Mississippi, was tracking the weather as late as 11 in the evening.
A radar feed showed that a tornado was just miles away from Amory, Mississippi.
Laubhan then inputted some data into his computer and overlaid the tornado track on the Amory city map.
Then, his tone changed when he delivered the news that the tornado was just 2 minutes away from the city’s north area.
“Dear Jesus, please help them,” Laubhan said. “Amen.”
He warned people to evacuate and to go to their respective shelters.
He also said during the broadcast that people rely on him too much regarding the weather.
He admitted that anything could change at the last minute.
Anything, that is, except one thing – that people of Amory should seek shelter immediately.
Leah Ann Hubbard sensed the urgency in Laubhan’s tone. She then took shelter in her bathtub, under her mattress, with two of her dogs.
“We knew it was coming, but you didn’t know if it was going to touch down,” Hubbard said, as quoted by Yahoo! Finance.
“All of a sudden, Matt says, ‘This is a potentially deadly tornado.’ I just remember him saying ‘deadly’ over and over.’”
Hubbard said Laubhan saved a lot of lives that day.
Less than thirty deaths were recorded by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. There were no recorded deaths from Amory.
Governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency in the affected counties.
He said in a statement that the state would help them rebuild.
He also asked his constituents to join them in praying for those devastated by the tornado.
Hubbard said that the possibility of a severe thunderstorm looms every week in spring and fall.
They knew this tornado was different because Laubhan told them to take cover.
She added that Laubhan was already warning them an hour before.
Hubbard remembered hearing Laubhan saying instructions like “taking this seriously” or “we should really get prepared.”
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Then, as he heard Laubhan saying that debris was flying 7,000 feet in the air, the lights went out, the phone died, and there was darkness.
Finding the right words to console those who have lost so much will be difficult.
But the residents of Amory took comfort in knowing that their local meteorologist saved many lives through his prayer and a stern warning.
Watch how this man’s prayer ended up saving lives.
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