When there’s a dangerous tornado about to rip through your home, you should make sure you’re taking cover. What you shouldn’t do is stand still and film it all. A young man named Trevor Kreke was filming a quick video of the wild weather to send to a friend when the twister came right over him. A tornado bore down on his rental home in Effingham, Illinois, with a direct hit. The only problem was that he was also still inside.
It was the night of June 17, and Kreke had his phone out to show a friend how hard the wind was blowing. “Bro, there’s a tornado outside right now,” he says on the recording, seconds before it reached him. The walls began to shake, glass shattered, and the storm threw him around as it tore the house apart. Then the video goes dark.
When the noise finally stopped, Kreke looked around the destruction. He wasn’t hurt and only had scrapes on his hands. But the rental house was gone, with its walls torn open, and a large tree on the property snapped in two. Debris from the home and yard was scattered across the yard everywhere in sight. Kreke seemed unbothered in the moment. Once he realized he wasn’t hurt, he was grateful for his luck. He credited his survival to his faith, saying God had carried him through the terrifying situation.
Kreke posted the footage to TikTok, where it spread quickly thanks to his seemingly calm demeanor in the moment. and was picked up by outlets including The Weather Channel. As the video traveled, so did offers to help. A GoFundMe set up for him has raised more than $40,000. He has said he plans to take only what he needs to recover and pass the rest along to neighbors and his church. Many of the members of his congregation were hit by the same storm.
How a Storm Turns Dangerous That Fast
@weatherchannelShocking video shows the moment an Illinois man’s home was completely overtaken by a tornado; while he was inside it.♬ original sound – The Weather Channel
The storm hits in the blink of an eye in the video. One second, Kreke is narrating the wind as anyone might, and the next, a tornado is on top of him. Tornadoes can form and intensify in minutes, which leaves very little time to react once one is close. That’s why a storm that looks survivable from a window can turn life-threatening before you’ve finished the thought.
Kreke wasn’t the only one hit. The Effingham County Emergency Management Agency described an impactful tornado that carved a path of roughly 12 to 15 miles through the northern part of the county. Officials reported around 30 homes destroyed and nearly as many badly damaged, along with some injuries, though none were said to be serious. For a town to take a hit like that without losing anyone is a blessing in itself.
What to Do When There’s No Time to Run
Running isn’t going to help you if a tornado spins up. They move much faster than a person, so trying to outdrive or outrun one usually makes things worse. It’s safer to get as low and as centered in a building as possible, ideally a basement or a storm shelter. If there isn’t one, an interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows, is the next best thing.
Covering your head and neck matters too, since most tornado injuries come from flying debris rather than the wind itself. The bigger lesson is to take warnings seriously the first time, before the sky makes the decision for you. Kreke didn’t have a basement or much warning, and by his own account, sheer luck and his faith are what got him out. Most people in that house don’t walk away, so Kreke is extremely lucky that he did.