A 69-year-old Baytown resident hid under a mattress before a tornado destroyed her home.

Weaver Street in Baytown is destroyed in almost every direction, and there was no power on Wednesday night after a powerful tornado destroyed houses and buildings on Tuesday.

A pile of rubble is all that’s left of Donna Swope’s house. Her roof is gone, her windows are shattered, and her bedroom is blown to pieces.

“It was something I never want to go through again,” Swope, 69, said by phone on Wednesday.

She hid under a mattress after she saw on KPRC 2’s non-stop coverage that a large, dangerous tornado was hurtling toward her.

“If I hadn’t got out of my chair on time, if I had waited one minute, I wouldn’t be here today,” she said.

She fell to the floor as fast as she could, as the mattress didn’t even completely cover her.

“I felt the house rising, rising,” she said. “You don’t have time to be scared or really think.

Twister grabbed her house and moved it a few feet, detaching the front steps from the front door.

The wreckage prevented her from escaping through the front or back door, so she called 911 and firefighters arrived to help.

Her son and daughter-in-law eventually made their way to her property from the back, where they found her sitting on the back porch.

“She’s safe in our home and not scratched and that’s all that matters, she’s safe,” said her son Shane Swope. “It’s terrible…we go and find pictures of things from our childhood.”

Donna, unharmed, withstood the wind, as did other mementos found by her family on Wednesday, such as a framed marriage certificate and a vintage radio.

The neighbors on her street weren’t hurt either, but there are long cleaning days ahead. Volunteers were in the area helping them get started on Wednesday.

“We’ve had our share of adversity in the past, even with Harvey, but they converged regardless of origin,” Baytown City Council member Laura Alvarado said. “It won’t stop until we make sure every family here is okay.”

Now the sun is setting over Donna’s head in this 1940s home, but the sight of what’s left makes her grateful.

“It’s a big loss, but I got away with life, so that says a lot,” she said.

Texans affected by a hurricane in their home or office are strongly encouraged to complete this form. online damage formGov. Greg Abbott’s office announced the news on Wednesday.

“The State of Texas is working around the clock to ensure that those affected by winter weather and severe storms have the support they need to recover,” Abbott said in a statement. “I encourage all affected Texans to self-report damage information to iSTAT. It is a critical tool for our local and state officials to determine eligibility for federal assistance, identify damage in areas affected by severe weather, and direct volunteer resources to communities in need.”