SEATTLE -- A Vancouver woman said she endured “the longest 15 seconds of her life” when a tornado swept her off her feet Thursday, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.
Connie Storey said she was walking her dog, Max, in the Hazel Dell community just outside of Vancouver when the tornado touched down around noon.
“The wind suddenly became so fierce that it threw me across the street and into a cyclone fence,” said Storey.
Storey clung to the fence while she held onto her 140-pound dog.
“Shingles, garbage cans, recycling bins and branches just flew past me, and I kept praying nothing would hit me,” said Storey.
The freak storm cut a 4-mile path through Vancouver and Hazel Dell, ripping off roofs, overturning a tractor-trailer, snapping power lines, toppling trees and shooting debris through the air.
SLIDESHOW: Rare Tornado Cuts Swath Of Damage Through Vancouver
Some of the storm's heaviest damage was at the edge of Vancouver Lake where the tornado demolished the home of Vancouver Lake Crew.
More than 50 rowing shells, which cost thousands of dollars each, lay splintered on the shores. Two large trailers that served as the base for the nonprofit club lay twisted on the ground.
Officials said that about 800 people lost power in the storm.
The last major tornado to touch down in the Vancouver area was in 1972. Six people were killed and more than 300 injured.
There were no serious injuries in Thursday’s storm but officials said people will be cleaning up the storm debris for several weeks.
Officials said tornados and funnel clouds rarely happen in Washington, but in June 1996 a tornado touched down in Tacoma, knocking down trees and power lines.
In April 1995, a funnel cloud was spotted over the waters of Puget Sound, and in May 2004 there were reports of three funnel clouds seen near Everett, Snohomish, and Mill Creek.
