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North Tulsa residents cleaning up after EF-1 tornado

Posted at 10:56 AM, May 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-21 17:43:18-04

TULSA — The National Weather Service said a tornado that ripped through north Tulsa on Tuesday morning was an EF-1.

Residents are cleaning up the damage. Trees were uprooted across the area near Newton and Lewis Avenue. Some are in people's front yards and others blocked main roadways like Lewis Avenue.

There were also knocked power lines, which caused the residents to be without electricity for several hours.

Part of a home's roof was ripped apart and there was debris scattered all over.

Some people living here say they woke up to the tornado siren going off this morning, so they immediately took shelter.

While they experienced terrifying moments inside their home, they're thankful they came out of it alive.

The powerful storm destroyed Lisa Watson's home in north Tulsa.

“I just thank God we're all OK. I thank God for that. You can replace your home and your cars, but not your family.”

Watson and her family were asleep when the tornado sirens went off. They quickly took cover.

“First thing to do would be to get the kids, got the kids made sure they were okay. We got blankets and put it on top of us and huddled together,” Watson said.

Tulsa police also responded to the area earlier to direct traffic while city crews worked to remove the trees and tree branches.

While it could be a long recovery process for the people living here, we've seen neighbors and city crews step up to help.

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