“We were just on the edge of something that could’ve been more devastating. It makes you realize how quickly everything could’ve been taken away and that just a little change saved it,” said Darren Dickens.
Sunday evening as tornadoes devastated the Pine Belt area, he and his family were in the direct path of the first tornado that came through Soso. The Dickens reside on Frosty Hinton Road, just west of the city of Soso by less than a mile. A slight bend in the path of the tornado saved his home with minimal structural damage to the area of his home they were bunkered down in.
Dickens recalled the events leading up to the tornado coming through.
“We were sitting and listening to the weather reports. We have family who live in Bassfield and Collins, so we were trying to listen in about the reports there. We have kind of always lived with the mindset that these things will go around you and that everything will be alright. We had a place in our house that we knew we would go to and that it would be the safest place. As they were telling us it was coming closer and to be prepared, we heard a hard rain come through and what I feel like was hail, then it started getting noisy with sirens in Soso going off. About that time, I could tell it was getting dark outside and the wind had changed. My wife said that her ears popped, then we heard a low roar. We hustled to the bathroom and hunkered down.”
“It was a low, deep roar. We all heard trees start popping and snapping. We could hear debris hitting the house and we heard something else hit the house. In just a few minutes, as quickly as it came up, it was over. I came out of the hallway and saw trees on the house. We had a limb through the back of the vehicle and I could tell my barn had damage. It was a bit overwhelming looking at everything,” said Dickens.
The Dickens’ home and property did not go unscathed as they had 47 trees down on their four-acre property, however, as they made it off of the road the following day they realized just how close they had come from a total loss.
“It is humbling. The next morning we got out because we didn’t eat supper or breakfast. Our lights were out so we didn’t want to open the refrigerator or freezer to try and save what we could. We decided to see if we could get out. One of my vehicles was trapped, but we got one out. We had to cut to get out. When we came back from Ellisville just after daylight, we realized how devastating this thing was. As I began to look and see the path, east of me is Soso less than a mile away, and west of me is North Ridge Road. I began to understand where the damage started on North Ridge Road and where the damage was in Soso, then where my house is located, if the storm would’ve taken a true straight line our home would have been in the center of the tornado.”
Dickens does not believe he is any more blessed or is immune to tornadoes due to it taking a small bend.
“I don’t believe I am any more blessed or the hand of God is on me more than other people because the one thing I have realized is that these storms do not discriminate. It attacks and destroys the 4,000 square foot houses just like it does the 1,400 square foot houses.”
“We have seen that with the help though as well,” said Dickens, “People have come to help no with the 4,000 square foot houses just like they do the 1,400 square foot houses. It is neighbor helping neighbor. We have had people from all over our community help. It has been humbling too.”