LAGRANGE, Ga. — Hundreds of people are homeless in Troup County after Thursday's tornado tore through their community. Dozens of people in LaGrange came together for a vigil Saturday to pray for those affected.
The Lexington Park neighborhood is one of the hardest-hit areas in LaGrange. Sameer Chaudhry's home is an example of what mother nature left behind.
“What am I going to do? I don’t have a house now," Chaudhry said. "Looking at this, it made me realize I’m homeless now.”
It's something Chaudhry never thought would happen to him.
“I didn’t know where the family was going to sleep that night," Chaudhry said. "I don’t know where family is going to sleep tonight.”
The family of seven is left with only memories of their home.
“This is where our living room used to be," Chaudhry said as he showed 11Alive the boarded-up roof.
Chaudhry's sister grabbed his four-year-old son and took off in her car once she saw the tornado.
“She would have been in this bathroom, which collapsed all the way," Chaudhry said.
Not only is the second story gone, but you can see the sky from that first-floor bathroom.
“This is everything we had. We were over here for 13 years, and to have it gone instantly is reality now," Chaudhry said.
Chaudhry was one of the people coming out to the prayer vigil Saturday afternoon at Lafayette Square in LaGrange.
“We’re not going to allow this to get us down. We’re going to keep pushing, and LaGrange is that great city that we know that it is, and we’re all going to pull together," LaGrange Councilman Willie Edmondson said.
“When someone is affected in our community, it affects everyone. We saw the damage that the tornado did, and we just felt it was very important to come out and support our community," said Kimberly Edmondson, who lives in LaGrange.
It's devastation Chaudhry knows all too well.
“It makes you realize that anything can happen to anyone. That’s where everyone should be able to help each other out, pray, and come together as a community," Chaudhry said.
The Chaudhry family did not have renter's insurance. They've started an online fundraiser as they pick up the pieces of their lives.