A tornado hit Jay nearly a month ago. Life for some residents still feels like a whirlwind
Mathew and Jessica Nowling finished building their own home in Jay a couple years after tying the knot, laying the foundation for the life and family they hoped to create together on a vast stretch of land with family nearby.
After living in that home for the past three years, the future that the Nowlings were preparing for was destroyed in an instant.
During the early hours of May 10, a tornado ravaged north Santa Rosa County, leaving many Jay residents to deal with heaps of scattered debris and lingering damage to their home.
Two buildings, including the Nowling residence, were completely destroyed in the tornado's wake. Five more were severely damaged, along with two agricultural structures. Six additional homes were listed with minor damage and four were listed by the Santa Rosa County's Building Inspections Department as "affected."
Many area residents were blindsided by the weather's ferocity, and weeks after the storm’s conclusion families afflicted by its damage still have a long road to recovery.
'God's opening another door for us'
Both Jessica and Mathew were awake minutes before the tornado ripped through their home.
“I looked at her phone where she had the radar pulled up and I thought it’d be a typical thunderstorm for us,” Mathew said.
They returned to sleep for a short while under the impression it would be a passing storm. Once the rain began and the whipping winds started to hit their home, the couple could only hold onto each other in a tight bear hug.
“It sounded like the roof was shifting a little bit and I said, ‘That doesn’t sound good.’” Mathew said. “As soon as I said that we went flying. We heard rain for just a quick second and it was over with.”
They were flung 80 yards from where their bedroom used to stand and slammed into the mud. As they dazedly tried to grasp what happened, Jessica began trying to dial family members for help.
“Honestly, I don’t think there was much going through my mind besides surviving,” she said.
Once they regained their senses, the couple was able to run to Mathew’s truck and drive to their nearby family’s home.
The tornado left Jessica with broken glasses, a concussion and a mild wrist sprain. Mathew broke his C7 vertebra and is in a neck brace until it heals.
The Nowlings initially didn’t have an opportunity to go back for many important things they left behind. Their four dogs and many of their prized possessions were lost amongst the chaos. Although they’ve found their dogs, who are in good health, Jessica’s wedding ring is still missing.
“The toys (are) expensive to replace but I can get new ones. You can’t buy the ring that we got married with again,” Mathew said.
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Friends, family and neighbors have tried to help out Jessica and Mathew where they can.
The Nowlings were gifted machine equipment by neighbors, and Mathew’s coworkers helped out with cleaning up the debris, which was hauled off by another one of their neighbors. Another area resident let them use a camper, and churches have been holding clothing drives to help them, according to Mathew.
Mathew says that Red Cross is the only relief organization that’s spoken with them since the tornado hit. Jessica was given a voucher by Red Cross to replace her broken glasses and they also provided the couple with a list of numbers to various relief organizations.
The Nowling family has faith in God’s plan for their new future, but looking at the remnants of their former life and household can get pretty bittersweet.
“God’s opening another door for us,” Mathew said. “I wish he would’ve knocked a little bit louder, I’d have opened the door.”
There is a Gofundme page set up by the Nowling family's relatives with a goal of $20,000 and nearly $4,500 raised at the time of writing.
Another Jay resident battling black mold, insects and insurance
Down the road from the Nowling’s is Bertha Lambeth, who’s currently fighting with insurance to repair multiple holes in her home’s roof that were caused by the tornado.
“They’re not gonna do nothing, I’m gonna have to get a lawyer to fight them to fix this roof,” Lambeth said.
Lambeth’s home was punctured in four different spots by fallen trees, all of which left still gaping holes within the residence. The damage has led to black mold forming all over the inside of the home and a never-ending flow of insects from outside, which Lambeth and her family are struggling to battle without help.
“There’s no way I can bring my grandbabies (inside) because they won’t even come and clean it,” she said. “I’ve been trying to clean it up but there’s no hope, it just comes back more and more. The whole wall is gonna need to be torn out.”
Lambeth said that she and her family aren’t feeling any effects from living with the black mold at this time, but, it’s seemingly infested the home and can even be seen spread around its master bathroom.
“It’s just molding everything,” Lambeth said.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Jay residents still dealing with damage from tornado during early May