A family is thankful to be alive after their home was struck by what the National Weather Service is now classifying as an EF-1 tornado.
"We never see tornadoes in Maryland," said Austin Kent, a Dundalk resident.
WATCH: Tornado destroys Maryland family's home, community rallies to support them
His own home battered but mostly intact, he recounts the moment he first realized the storm was in fact a tornado.
"I was unable to see my neighbor Ben across the street his house because it was completely blurred out, and I just seen just a gust going like this and just started to come towards my house, and I just quickly slammed my door," Kent
Miraculously, Ben Sloboda and his family are shaken but alive after losing the roof of their home.
As one local pointed out, “You can see here that the total roof is gone."
Sloboda's mother-in-law was in the room when the roof was torn off — the roof blew away, landing on Merrit Avenue, which shut down traffic Friday night. Sloboda's mother-in-law was thankfully unharmed.
The community has rallied around the family during this challenging time.
"We always stick together, and that's the one thing," Sloboda said. "We had people giving us pizza last night and people offering stuff."
Neighbors have created a GoFundMe page, not only to assist with relocation but also to help care for Sloboda’s son.
"My son suffers from a genetic mutation of GABRA1," Sloboda said. "It's a very rare genetic mutation which is causing developmental delays."
With the family’s home condemned, Sloboda is uncertain about their future.
"I don't know what we're gonna do," he said.
The loss is particularly poignant for Sloboda, whose grandfather built the house in 1950.
"My father was born here," Sloboda said.
In the wake of this disaster, amidst the emotional turmoil, Sloboda is asking those who aren’t from the area for some privacy.
"Stop driving up and down the streets looking at people's stuff," Sloboda said. "Our lives are being uprooted. I wouldn’t ever do it to somebody else, and I hope people would respect us."
