Mother: Children survived being sucked from home

Ayanna Stevens, 4, center left, and her sister Amber Stevens, 3, center right, recover at Levine Children’s Hospital, in Charlotte, N.C., as their parents Tyronne and Latonya Stevens sit by their side after a tornado destroyed their home in the Brookstead neighborhood on Saturday

By MITCH WEISS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – When Latonya Stevens heard thunder and lightning in the distance, she knew the drill. Every time a storm drew near, her children would run to her room seeking comfort.

So Stevens turned on a hall light for the young kids as high winds began buffeting the house. Then she blacked out and awoke to find only one of the four kids in sight.

With the house about to shake apart, she quickly assumed the worst: that a twister had carried off the other three.

“I was screaming for them,” Stevens said Monday. “I was panicking. For a moment, I didn’t know where they were.”