Moore Residents Grasp Scope Of Devastation Left By Tornado

By Joshua Brakhage, News On 6

MOORE, Oklahoma -- The scope of the devastation in Moore was just coming into focus Tuesday.

A sixth-grade classroom fell in on itself at Moore's Briarwood Elementary, pinning Ashley Bersche and her classmates under a wall of debris.

"Everybody started crying, and I started crying, because I didn't know if was going to make it or not," Bersche said.

Tabitha Long's daughter was at Plaza Towers Elementary when the sirens sounded.

"I picked her up and put a jacket over her and we were just trying to get out," Long said.

Within minutes, the tornado flattened the elementary school.

Full Coverage: May 2013 Tornado Outbreak

Jennifer Doan was buried in the rubble along with her third-grade class.

"I put my arms around two of them," Doan said. "I was telling them to keep calm and they would come. He just kept telling me that he couldn't breathe and he didn't want to die."

That little boy and Jennifer were pulled out alive. Seven other students at the school didn't survive.

Some families saw the destruction for the first time Tuesday.

Amber Anderson wasn't home on Monday, but watched the storm zero in on her neighborhood.

"I was like, 'My house is gone,' and sure enough, when we got over here," she said, her voice choked with tears.

And Tuesday will be another night of camping for Mark Ellerd.

"I was afraid for my life," Ellerd said.

He's been spending the night in front of what's left of his home.

Like so many others, he's worried if he leaves, roadblocks will keep him from coming back.