Student Records Moment Tornado Hits Oklahoma Hampton Inn

A University of Kentucky student staying with his family at a Hampton Inn in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, captured the moment a powerful tornado hit the building on Monday, May 6.

Footage filmed by Murilo Damin Cechetti shows the moment the power went out at the hotel and he and his family ran for a shelter area. After the tornado passed, Cechetti filmed scenes of destruction at the hotel, where large debris blocked a hallway and twisted metal littered the ground outside the building.

“We were expecting the tornado two [hours] before the happening. We got the alert in our phones and soon the sirens went off in the entire hotel. So we all went downstairs toward the shelter area on the first floor. It was really windy and people were running all over. All of a sudden, both the side door and the front door exploded with the wind. We moved to the shelter on the first floor and then just heard the stomping and the wind noise,” Cechetti told Storyful.

The tornado, which the National Weather Service said was produced by a supercell, severely damaged structures and flung debris across the town.

Local news reports said at least one person was killed during the tornado on Monday night. Credit: Murilo Damin Cechetti via Storyful

Video transcript

Yeah.Real deal.Real deal.Oh, got you.We are doing it.Ok, welcome to Oklahoma.Welcome to Oklahoma already check on you.Yeah, I think the last Yes.Yes.Thank you.Yeah, I got my first time that you know.Yeah.Ok.