Nebraska Brothers Speak out After Being ‘Lifted’ by a Tornado

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America's Midwest has been battered by an onslaught of powerful storms and tornado outbreaks over the past week, particularly over the weekend. Dozens of tornadoes carved paths of widespread destruction throughout several Midwest states, including Iowa, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, and tragically, several people died during the storms.

Brothers Roger and Royce Slatten of Elkhorn, Nebraska, narrowly avoided joining the number of storm casualties. The brothers' dramatic shared story of survival is an incredible one, as the two men were among the small handful of people who've actually been "lifted up" by a tornado and lived to tell the tale!

The scene the Slatten brothers set for @cnn was like something out of a disaster movie. A landscape of rubble framing the brothers from the background, Roger Slatten described trying to make it down the stairs of his Nebraska home with Royce as a sudden tornado tore through their neighborhood. The brothers didn't make it to the basement in time, and the powerful tornado hit their home dead-on, leaving the men powerless to escape it.

Related: Watch: Surprise Tornado Touches Down in Front of an Arizona Family's Home

"You could just hear, you know, the windows just go 'boom'," recalled Roger. "They all exploded, and under our feet, the floor kind of jolted a couple times, and then we just... took off."

The two men described the horrible sensation of being lifted into the air by the tornado, somersaulting and striking debris as the twister threw them around like rag dolls. In a miraculous stroke of luck, though, the tornado threw them back to the ground before carrying them too far into the sky. Royce struck his head and passed out, Roger hit the ground face-first and was buried under rubble - yet somehow, both of them emerged alive and intact.

Neither man walked away from the wreckage unscathed, though. According to CNN , Royce needed 22 stitches and hurt his feet walking barefoot through storm debris. Roger suffered several bone bruises, was punctured in the back by a nail, and cut up his face badly. Furthermore, the house that the two brothers shared with Roger's wife Lindy (who was safe at work) was destroyed down to the basement foundation. Yet against all odds, the brothers lived through an experience few others have survived before without life-threatening injuries, and they still have each other safe by their sides.

Deadly Storms in the Midwest

Unfortunately, not everyone caught in the path of these storms was as fortunate as the Slatten brothers. Yesterday, the BBC reported that at least five deaths have been confirmed in the aftermath of this weekend's tornado outbreak , with four of the deaths occurring in Oklahoma and one in Iowa. Tragically, one of the victims was only four months old. That toll doesn't even include the many people who were injured or had their homes destroyed as dozens upon dozens of tornadoes tore through the Great Plains in only a few short days.

While we celebrate the incredible survival story of the Slatten brothers, they are still victims who've been left homeless by the very thing that nearly killed them. Our thoughts are with them and anyone who has been injured, lost homes, or lost loved ones in this devastating storm outbreak.

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