Red Cross helps local family after derecho destroys home

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Power repair crews and debris clean-up crews still have a ways to go before the mess from the derecho storm is gone for good.

The Red Cross has been one of the leading relief organizations helping families in their time of need, including making a difference for one family who survived a scary experience.

After the derecho hit Emily Hall's home, she's left with a tree through her ceiling, ruined furniture, and a hole in the side of her home, where she had to cut out beds for her kids to sleep on.

Hall wasn't home when the storm hit, she was actually at a movie theater, but babysitter Dustin Collins was with her four children in the living room and recalls telling the kids to lay on the floor moments before the tree fell.

He says, "We were just sitting there trying to ride the storm out and all of a sudden it just come through the roof, like it was out of nowhere. Like, it come down, hit me in the head and I got the kids out of the house."

"We're just really blessed. That's not something that happens every day, you don't have this happen and people walk out, and be fine all the time," Hall says.

Hall has taken out all she can from inside, but admits she's basically starting over with four children, thankfully, with the help of the Red Cross which just started its disaster assessments.

Lee Clark of the Red Cross says, " We're basically going door to door in the communities that were most impacted. We're looking to see which homes were completely destroyed."

Case workers showed up at Hall's home Sunday and deemed it "destroyed."

Hall explains, "To actually see somebody come out and be like yeah we're willing to help you right this second was amazing, because I had been waiting for anything. I'm like please anybody just help me. I have four kids, it's not easy to walk into someone's house and be like, here I am to stay with four kids."

She may be out of a home, but this mother isn't out of hope just yet, thanks to the Red Cross.

The Red Cross says this disaster response is different from, that of the Pulaski tornados.

More people were affected by the power outages, but severe structural damage is far less.

The family of Emily Hall has set up a Facebook page to donate to help the mother of four log on to http://www.facebook.com/HelpForEmily to donate.