Shocking footage of a storm chaser rescuing a family of four after their Texas home was destroyed by a tornado has been circulating widely on social media.
In the roughly one-minute long clip filmed from inside a car on May 2, storm chaser Freddy McKinney is following the tornado and says he is worried it might have hit a house, before changing course to check. Seconds later he can be heard saying, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. There's people, there's people."
He pulls his vehicle over and tells the people to get in. The distressed group can be seen running through rain and high winds towards him, trailed by a small dog, as the tornado rages in the distance.
"Help us, please. Please God help. Hurry," a woman says. She is carrying a child in her arms. Behind them is another child, who looks to be injured, and a man, seen limping.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) after the events unfolded, McKinney wrote: "Guys I'm okay I took a family to the hospital. Thank god they survived that tornado their house was absolutely leveled."
Multiple states have been on high alert since Wednesday after warnings of heavy storms and multiple tornados across the southern plains, including Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas.
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Newsweek contacted McKinney for further details on how the events behind the video transpired.
McKinney regularly posts footage of his storm chasing to his YouTube channel, where he has over 100,000 subscribers. Livestreams of his endeavors frequently garner millions of views.
Users heaped praise upon the storm chaser for his heroic actions. "Great work being a great human," read one post.
"A man sent straight from heaven," read another.
Another said: "We all saw what happened on stream. Great freaking job dude. We are all praying they make it. That was horrifying."
Social media has been awash with user-submitted videos and images of the havoc wrought across parts of the southern U.S.
Pictures purportedly taken in Hawley, Texas depict destroyed houses, crushed vehicles and broken trees.
Footage of the tornado itself shows debris being flung into the air as it whips across open fields, battering trees as it passes by.
Texas has been hit with 43 tornados so far this year, with around half of those touching down in April, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Storm Prediction Center.
The National Weather Service forecasts continued thunderstorms and heavy rains in parts of Texas over the weekend.
Texans may have to brace for even more serious weather in the future, as a recent study conducted at Texas A&M University has warned that hurricanes could intensify as climate change leads to a rise in sea levels.
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Joe Edwards is a Live News Reporter in Newsweek's London bureau.
