ATHENS, Texas — Many East Texans are still on the road to recovery from last Friday’s tornado outbreak.
CBS19 has obtained a business' security footage of an EF-2 tornado with max winds of 115 miles per hour ravaging the west side of Athens.
The owner of Athens Army Navy & Pawn Shayne Surls opened up about what he experienced in the storm.
"The storm was coming our way and we knew," Surls said. "We were watching it and we were trying to get closed down a little early so we could get ahead of it."
In the security footage you can see an employee named Colten watching the storm develop from the door. He denied our request for an interview, but you can hear him yelling 'Oh my God' as the winds increased.
Off camera Colten said the rain was blowing sideways, he couldn’t push the door open, and saw a wall of gray where a laundry matt would be across the street.
As the winds started shaking the building Colten yelled 'That’s a tornado! Go! Go!' to Surls as then ran to the store's safe.
"As I'm looking back running to the door, as you can see in the video, I look back and see stuff flying across the front," Surls said. "These roof tiles started kind of shaking."
The store's safe is made out of reinforced concrete and steel.
"We got in here and got the door shut and we could feel the vibrations and shaking," Surls said. "Then all the stuff started hitting the building."
Surls also mentioned that if the store had been taken out by the tornado and scattered the guns, he would have to work with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to recover every single one.
"I was very thankful that everything was still intact inside, and that we didn't have any guns thrown everywhere," Surls said. "On the way to the safe, I was praying to God that he protects us and keeps us safe. And he did."
Surls had noticed many businesses closing early because of the storm. He was actually finishing up paperwork trying to leave early before the tornado came through. He hopes his story inspires people to always plan ahead in a tornado watch.