Gwen Hudgins was at home with her son in the afternoon of the St. Louis storm last Friday, which devastated several nearby communities, including her home, which is now under debris.
Her son was in his room in the back, while she sat in front of the house on her computer. According to the single mother, she didn’t hear the sirens. But as soon as the hail and rain started to pour, she heard her son yelling from the other side of the house.
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“I could tell by the way he was yelling something was wrong,” she told First Alert 4. “We made it to the front hall and I grabbed for the door to open it up and the wind just slammed it back and knocked us back and everything just came on us.”
They were flung through a wall shortly after her son warned her, according to Hudgins, and landed in the sideyard while debris swirled above their heads.
“We just laid there for a bit because everything was just whipping around in the air,” she said.
After being able to get up, they managed to reach a neighbor’s house before noticing the full magnitude of the destruction. Her house was in ruins and had not been the same seconds before.
Before the tornado devastated her home in North St. Louis, Hudgins had lived there for over 30 years.
“I raised my son here, so this is life, this is life,” she expressed. “This is my life history.”
She added, “I took good care of my yard and I decorated for every holiday. I have so many memories in this home and I’ve lost everything.”
Trees that had fallen destroyed their three vehicles, including a pickup truck. Hudgins and her son are sleeping in their cars, covered in tarps because their windows were blown out during the storm. They do not have transportation or a cell phone.
“The little stuff that was in the house, or whatever, you got to try to protect it,” she said. “So we’re staying here right next to it. Our things are underneath tents to try to keep them safe and dry as well.”
As she attempts to reach family members, Hudgins said volunteers and community organizations have been dropping by, providing food and other assistance.
Meanwhile, she has no idea what will happen because she does not have insurance.
“I’ve lost everything, my husband was a veteran and he died from a cancer, so it’s just me and my son,” she said. “But we will get through this, somehow.”
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