An elderly woman whose home was destroyed by the Oklahoma tornado found her pet dog among the rubble during a live TV interview.

The footage of Barbara Garcia came as fellow survivors began reliving the terror they felt while winds of up to 200mph obliterated their neighbourhoods.

Mrs Garcia was standing among the twisted wreckage of her home as she was interviewed about her experiences by a reporter from CBS.

"I was sitting on the stool holding my dog," she said.

"This was the game plan all through the years, to go in that little bathroom (together). I rolled around a little bit and when it stopped I was right there (and) that stove cooker is what I saw.

"I never lost consciousness and I hollered for my little dog and he didn't answer, he didn't come, so I know he's in here somewhere."


But as she spoke, a member of the camera crew spotted a dog's head poking out of the twisted remains of her home.

Mrs Garcia is seen crouching down before exclaiming with joy as she spots her pet.

"Well I thought God just answered one prayer to let me be OK but he answered both of them," she said, before being led away from the ruins with her dog.

Meanwhile, one mother who survived the storm described how she and her children took refuge in their bath as the tornado tore their house apart.


"My husband told us to get in the bathtub immediately and put on a mattress," she said.

She said she had to hold her daughter's hair to stop her slipping away when the tornado struck.

Another family locked themselves inside their cellar - only to have its door ripped open by the twister.

Ricky Stover said: "We thought we'd die. We saw the latch coming undone and we couldn't reach for it ... glass and debris started slamming on us."
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