SHELBY COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) – After a suspected tornado from tropical storm Beryl tore through Timpson City Hall and nearby buildings, a Center couple is thanking God they’re still alive after that same storm unleashed damaging winds on their home.

John & Sheila Childress say they had no idea when they woke up Monday morning, that the next day they’d be looking at their shed thrown around their yard, and their second floor without a roof.

“After it passes and you walk out and you see the devastation and destruction it, it takes your breath away,” says John.

When the damaging winds came through the property, John says he was sitting in his home office, but something told him to go downstairs and take cover.

“We just kept hearing things breaking and those were the trees around us that were just snapped in half,” says Sheila.

That’s when the roof of the home was ripped off, which now lays in the grass, but the Childress’ barn took most of the damage.

“It’s just so surreal,” says Sheila.

John says he and his wife have home insurance, so most of the damage will be covered, but they’re grateful to still have what money can’t buy, their lives.

“It’s not going to be a quick fix, at all, but we can’t give up. You can’t quit. You’ve got to keep pushing forward,” says John.

Shelby County Judge Allison Harbison says she’s issuing a declaration of disaster due to tropical storm Beryl and encourages county residents to report damages to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

For now, tree cutting services are available in Shelby County for trees that aren’t lying on power lines or structures.

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