Jenks A Fresh Start For Couple Who Lost Home In Moore Tornado

The one year anniversary of the Moore tornado is meaningful for one Jenks couple. Roger and Kalissa Graham's home was destroyed during the tornado, but they've started over in Green Country.

For the Grahams, the Jenks neighborhood marks a new beginning after losing nearly everything they owned.

As the EF-5 tornado barreled its way to Moore last year, Roger Graham was at work, but knew the tornado was heading straight for his neighborhood.

"My worst fear was it was headed to my house," he said.

He watched as much as he could of the weather coverage until he lost the signal, then he just waited for the bad news.

"One of my buddies sent a video of where my house was where the tornado went and you could clearly see my house was hit and then a couple of minutes later my neighbor texted me and said, 'Hey, it's gone,'" Graham said.

He said just getting to his home in the moments after, and walking through a pile of rubble, was like walking through a maze.

"I had to remind my wife where we were because, as we got to the damage, it was just catastrophic. It just looked like a bomb went off," said Graham.

Shortly after the tornado, Graham was transferred to Tulsa. He and his wife closed on a home in a Jenks and started over.

Graham said it may have been a year since the tornado, but he still hasn't fully come to terms with everything that happened.

"I think, for me, it's really hard to process, it really is," Graham said. "I mean, it comes in bits and pieces. I've replayed it a few times in my head."

Graham said he is grateful every day that he and his wife only lost their home; they weren't injured and nobody they knew lost their lives.

He said his new home may be far away from tornado alley in Moore, but one of the first items he plans to add is a storm shelter.

"We're certainly getting a storm shelter, absolutely, without question," Graham said.

He said he's very thankful for everyone who reached out to him and his wife after the storm. He said it made things so much easier as they traveled the road to recovery.