About half way to the ditch Carla felt the wind pick up and said she realized they wouldn’t make it. She lay down and covered Hannah as the tornado swept over. Carla tries to describe what happened during the next few seconds but says she doesn’t entirely know. What she does know is that she saw a large cedar tree crash to the ground and land only a few yards away from them. The tree then swept toward them and she felt it slam against her shoulders. The next few seconds, she says, she was thrown around like a little child caught in the ocean’s waves, branches clutching and scraping her. All she could do was repeat the prayer “Lord save me!” She held on to Hannah, but the little girl was pulled from her arms.

Update: Local Mom Has Baby Boy A Week After Tornado Destroys Home

Nearly a week after an EF-2 tornado ripped through Eastern Carolina, a pregnant woman who lost her home in the storm gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Carla Van Essendelft, along with her husband Mark and their six kids, were inside their home on Beech Ridge Road when the tornado struck.

The family says they have countless people to thank, including first responders who brought Carla to Vidant Pungo Hospital.

“We were 30 seconds from all being dead,” says Carla. “If the lord had not worked out every detail, we wouldn’t be here today.”

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