Saturday was the day in Granbury anxious tornado victims finally got back into their neighborhoods. Despite the destruction they'd seen on TV, many had hope they'd find their homes or at least some valuables intact.
On Wednesday night, an outbreak of 16 tornadoes killed six people in Granbury. At least 100 people were injured. 97 of the 110 homes in the DeCordova Ranch and Rancho Brazos neighborhoods were damaged or destroyed by one tornado.
"Scared. I don't know if I even have a house," said David Velasquez before heading out to his Rancho Brazos neighborhood.
With a much coveted fluorescent green permit in hand, Malonie Flores is going in, too.
"It's going show me what's still left of my home and hopefully my kids' things are still there and pictures," said Flores. "I've seen the news. I've seen all those houses flattened."
The Hood County Sheriff's Department would not allow media access to the neighborhood Saturday. Just the families who lived there.
Tornado victims poured into the Church of Christ Saturday morning where the Red Cross, insurance companies and local charities were ready to help. Jerry Shuttlesworth was there with his dad and his dog.
"He [pit bull-terrier named Junior] was wrapped around my arm and he was jerked off my arm and the house blew up," Shuttlesworth said. "This is what it was about. Dad was at church. I lost him [the dog]."
But the two were later reunited. "You can replace the home and stuff but you can't replace this baby," Shuttlesworth said as he pointed to his dog.
Shuttlesworth didn't have to wait for a permit to go see what his house looks like. It's gone. At one point Wednesday night he thought he might be, too.
"Just basically in the tornado," explained Shuttlesworth. "You just sit there and watch it like you see on TV but I was in it, watching it, laying on the ground."
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"And when I got up I was praying and when I got up there was a perfect berm, four to seven feet, I still can't remember because I was hit in the head, it was perfect around me protecting me,
Shuttlesworth said.
"Talk about God putting a hedge of protection around you. I got up and looked up and said 'I see what you did, I know what you did,' I said, 'but where's my puppy'?"
