Barbee’s wife, Monica, heard a strange noise early Saturday morning, and after waking up Richard, she screamed that a tornado was hitting their doublewide mobile home on Scott Road. The couple grabbed their three children — Blake, 19, Maegen, 16, and Zachary, 8 — and ran to the front door. But the family did not get far.

“We had to hit the floor,” Richard said. “We covered the kids, and the next thing you know, we heard a big crash and boom. The roof was gone and the walls were gone. When I looked up, I was looking at the sky.”

The Barbees were not sure of the extent of the damage to their home until light began pouring in later Saturday morning. The tornado split the 1,700-square-foot home in half. Dirt stained the vinyl siding and sat atop a portion of the roof. Crumpled papers, broken plates, mangled chairs and shards of glass were strewn across the yard.

A white pickup truck had flipped over, and a green Ford Explorer was stuck in the mud. “I just put a new motor in that truck two weeks ago,” Barbee said, shaking his head.

Despite the loss of his home, Barbee knew things could have been worse. “We lost our house, we lost everything, but the main thing is we walked out with our lives,” he said. “I know the good Lord was watching us. That is the only reason we walked out of that place.”

But not everyone in the path of Saturday’s tornado was so fortunate. Maryland Gomez, 61, who lived near the Barbees, died in the storm, said Kenly Fire Chief Paul Whitehurst. Her husband was treated at WakeMed in Raleigh for injuries, and a second person was taken to Johnston Medical Center in Smithfield.

Curt Jernigan, a neighbor, said he awoke early Saturday to a noise that sounded like a train. A few minutes later, Maryland Gomez’s husband rushed over and asked Jernigan to help him find his family. The tornado tore Jernigan’s barn to pieces and damaged his home. Next door, at the Gomez home, the damage was much worse. Half of the family’s singlewide mobile home stood on its side; the rest was in pieces strewn across several yards.

“I’d rather it took my house completely than to take Ms. Maryland any day,” Jernigan said of the tornado. “I can rebuild.”

Whitehurst, the fire chief, said the tornado cut a two-mile swath from Crumpler Road to U.S. 301. The storm struck around 3:20 a.m. with winds of 130 to 135 mph.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado then moved into Wilson County with winds of 140 to 145 mph, destroying several homes and killing one boy.

About a dozen Kenly families have been displaced because of the storm, Whitehurst said. Six homes were heavily damaged or destroyed. Others suffered minor damages, such as broken windows and missing shingles.

Elsewhere in Johnston, eight structures were damaged in the Blackmon’s Crossroads and Meadow communities. Some damage was reported in Pine Level. Most of the damaged structures were singlewide and doublewide mobile homes and stick-built houses.

After the storm, Progress Energy moved to restore power while the N.C. Department of Transportation cleared roads of debris.

Gov. Mike Easley visited the damaged areas in Johnston and Wilson counties on Monday. Johnston County Building Inspections employees were assessing the damages Saturday, Whitehurst said. National Weather Service representatives were also going to survey the damage. Whitehurst hoped to put a price tag on the destruction this week.

In the wake of the storm, Kenly Free Will Baptist Church became a rescue shelter. And volunteer groups, including the N.C. Baptist Men, were on site to help families begin the recovery process. Members of the Cary-based group helped assess the damage, carve up downed trees, pick up debris and salvage belongings for homeowners.

“What we are here for is the people,” said member Joe Baker. “Whatever they need, whatever they want, we are here for them.”

Whitehurst said the response from the community had been overwhelming. “In the face of tragedy, that is the time when everybody pulls together,” he said. “We may have our differences, but when something like this happens, we all pull together. You have already seen that by the number of folks willing to come out and assist us.”