'Thankful to be alive': Tornado reaching 110 mph winds destroys Ocala homes

OCALA, Fla. - Some Ocala residents at the Saddleworth Green Apartments do not have a place to call home after a tornado ripped through the area.

One resident was sleeping when she heard the strong winds Saturday morning, jumped out of bed and rushed to the corner of her bedroom as the tornado took the ceiling of her bedroom in its path. 

"I was sleeping in my bed and when I heard the wind, and then I saw the roof start coming off, so I went over here to the back corner," said Olivia Glenn. "I was like dear lord please protect me. I was just praying."

The tornado also took the walls of another resident's apartment. Her neighbor tells FOX 35 that she was in bed when her cat was acting strange and crying, so she went to the kitchen, narrowly escaping the tornado's path.

"She’s like okay this cat's acting funny, so I’m going to get up, and literally she said literally her bedroom just a big noise," said the woman's neighbor, Cathy Dupelle. "She moved at the right time. If she didn’t move, she would have been right there."

The National Weather Service confirms the EF-1 tornado tore through the area with winds reaching 110 miles per hour Saturday morning.

"You can hear the rain and then a big roar came through, and it was over," said Dupelle.

The American Red Cross set up a shelter at the Central Christian Church, located at 3010 NE 14th Street, for those who don't have a place to stay. 
 

Many are just thankful they’re safe. 

"Very scary," said Glenn. "I’m very thankful that God protected me, and I’m still alive. Just thankful to be alive."