NJ man captures moment tornado devastated his home in chilling video
It was a real-life “Twister” moment.
Mark Kobylinski inadvertently created a chilling home-movie version of the 1996 cult film when an EF-3 tornado ripped through Mullica Hill, NJ, last week, making good on Hurricane Ida’s promise to wreak havoc on the northeast US.
The resulting now-viral video, originally posted in its full 3-minute form on Facebook, has racked up 1.2 million views, 21,000 shares and more than 10,000 likes as of Wednesday.
“Long video but shows the Mullica Hill tornado [making a] direct hit on our home,” Kobylinski, 51, captioned the clip of an ominous cloud approaching — and then thrashing — his home. “Incredible damage. Our neighborhood has been devastated but everyone is safe!”
Pitman, NJ, resident Kobylinski sought refuge with the family dog in the basement when the winds reached “sounds like a freight train” levels. (Yes, you can actually hear it coming — and going.)
“Holy s–t, s–t, f–k,” he can be heard saying in pitch blackness, his voice rising several octaves in fear as he tries to wrangle his unruly pup to safety. Gasping for air, Kobylinski utters one last, “Holy s–t,” before he comes out of the basement to survey the damage.
The harrowing footage then features him expressing disbelief upon seeing his home windowless as siding, roofing and other debris floats — deceptively light-looking — through the air.
“Oh. My. God,” are the only words Kobylinski can muster as the winds whip around him. A neighbor’s home, seen in the distance, appears stripped of its outside layer.
Kobylinski did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, the EF-3 tornado was among seven tornados that cut a devastating path through New Jersey, Insider reported. It flattened several homes in Mullica Hill neighborhoods, the local ABC TV news outlet reported, and nearly decimated one of NJ’s largest dairy farms, shredding silos and trapping hundreds of cows.
At least 25 people perished in New Jersey, the most of any state, amid the catastrophic flooding set off across the Northeast by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Most victims drowned after their vehicles were caught in flash floods, the Associated Press reported. A family of three and their neighbor were killed as 12 to 14 feet of water flooded their apartments in Elizabeth, NJ.
“People think it’s beautiful out, which it is, that this thing’s behind us and we can go back to business as usual, and we’re not there yet,” Gov. Phil Murphy warned.
Police went door to door in search of more possible victims and wrote up lists of the still-missing as the death toll rose to 49 on Friday.