Security footage captured disastrous weather event one year ago

One year ago, the lives of thousands of North Texans were in grave danger when an EF3 tornado ripped through the city of Dallas at around 10:30 p.m., local time. Family homes, churches and businesses were all in the crosshairs of the twister, which packed winds of up to 140 mph and destroyed everything in its path. Although a year has passed, the tornado left many scars that are still being mended.

According to an AccuWeather estimate, the tornado outbreak, which consisted of 10 twisters across the northern Texas region, caused an economic impact of at least $4 billion in damages, as several structures were left in shambles.

Primera Iglesia Bautista First Baptist Church of Dallas is among the more than a dozen buildings that were completely destroyed by the tornado. Just hours after Sunday service wrapped up, the strong winds and rain tore through the church, leveling the entire structure. The church's security cameras captured footage of the ominous moments the weather conditions deteriorated, the church's lights went out and the furious winds from the tornado began pummeling the building.

Thankfully, no one was inside the church at the time the storm struck thanks to a change the pastor enacted just three weeks before the tornado hit.

"We used to have evening services, and I suspended them because I said let's have a better, more meaningful service on Sunday instead of two," Ricardo Brambila, the church's pastor, told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell. "If I had not stopped those services a good 50, 60 [people] would have been in that building, and the tornado would have hit."

Today, all that is left of the church are some brick arches. Despite the destruction, Bramibila is grateful for the bond that the congregation has formed after going through the devastating event. He is also feeling hopeful for the future of the church, saying "we have nothing, but we have everything."

Brick arches stand where the Primera Iglesia Bautista First Baptist Church of Dallas stood one year ago before the tornado leveled the structure. Church leaders told Wadell that the congregation is tighter than ever before after going through this disaster. (AccuWeather / Bill Wadell)

"You have the options to become better or bitter ... and we made the choice to see the best in people," Brambila said.

He added that the church is helping those in need, since "our people are barely surviving" after the tornado. The church is making sure that everyone's "physical needs are met," he said, adding "we had to step up and provide the rental assistance and put food in front of them."

As for the future of the church, Brambila said he hoped to build a tornado-proof structure. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, plans for the church's reconstruction have been pushed back.

The pandemic has also slowed down the reconstruction of family homes which, one year ago -- minutes before the tornado barreled through -- were filled with families watching the Dallas Cowboys game on TV.

"We're going to come back" and we rebuilt said Frank Yanez, who was the first one in his neighborhood to return home, just two months after the tornado tore through it.

"It's the strangeness of the tornado because it hopped," Yanez told Wadell, pointing to homes still boarded up with damage across the street, saying "it totaled those." He noted that his house and some of his neighbors' homes were damaged, "but not to the extent that others were."

Nearby, a damaged high school was still blocked off by fences one year later, Wadell reported.

Frank Yanez, a Dallas resident, explained to Bill Wadell that the tornado "hopped" through his neighborhood, damaging some homes more heavily than others. (AccuWeather / Bill Wadell)

However, Yanez feels hopeful for the future of his community, as he added that his neighborhood is slowly getting back on track. Although some people moved out after the disaster, there are new people moving in and more homes being built. Other neighbors are hoping construction will be finished so that they can move back in time for New Year's.

"There's larger homes and our neighbors are coming back. Each month it's like a new set of neighbors come back, and that's exciting," he said.

Reporting by Bill Wadell.

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