A British Playboy model has revealed she narrowly cheated death when a 170mph tornado ripped through her house.
Lora Drammis, 30, saw her roof fall in as she was blasted onto her bathroom floor in the middle of the night when two tornadoes ripped through a 50-mile stretch of Tennessee killing 26 last month.
The model, originally from Dorchester, Dorset, moved to LA six years ago and relocated to Nashville in 2019.
Speaking to the Sun, Lora, who lives alone, said: ‘It sounded like a nuclear bomb had gone off. The whole thing was terrifying.’
Playboy model Lora Drammis, 30, lost her home and her possessions when a tornado ripped through her Nashville home last month
The Brit, who has lived in the US for six years, saw her roof fall in as she was blasted across her bedroom in the middle of the night when two tornadoes ripped through Tennessee
Devastation: Lora’s home was completely destroyed by the tornado, including her bedroom, which is where she was sheltering when her house was hit
Remains: The house was in one of the areas that suffered the most destruction as a result of the tornado
Lora feared all her neighbors had died when the F3 tornado hit her home last month.
She was in bed watching a lightning storm when she heard tornado-warning sirens and got a text from her friend urging her to hide.
‘I got the text that said take shelter and then like two seconds later one of my friends texted me and just said “hide” so then I took it seriously,’ she told Fox17, revealing that she sprung into action as soon as the messages came through.
Thinking quickly, the model grabbed her dog Araya and ran to jump in the bath, which she says is the safest place to be in a tornado.
But she was knocked off her feet as soon as she opened the door, and blasted back across her bedroom.
The model, originally from Dorchester, Dorset, ran to grab her dog Araya when she was first warned about the tornado and was able to save the pup’s life
Lora feared all her neighbors had died when the F3 tornado hit her home last month – and she has since set up a GoFundMe to help an elderly couple who lived near her
‘We believe in East Nash’: Since that tornado hit, Lora has shared many Instagram pictures to show her support of rebuilding the community in Nashville
She tolled on top of her dog, and managed to push the door closed with her feet.
‘It just knocked me back into the bedroom and I just got on top of her because I was holding her and managed to push my door shut with my feet and hold it because I could just feel the pressure and stuff going through,’ she said.’
‘The pressure of it felt like the door was going to fall on top of us. It was the most frightening experience of my life,’ she added to The Sun.
Lora revealed her windows were all smashed and her kitchen and bedroom caved in, leaving her trapped.
‘I was screaming. I thought everyone else on my street was dead. I was in my pajamas and there was glass everywhere. My car was wrecked.’
Buildings damaged by the storm are seen in the Germantown neighborhood following devastating tornadoes on March 3, 2020 in Nashville
Speaking to the Sun , Lora, who lives alone, said: ‘It sounded like a nuclear bomb had gone off. The whole thing was terrifying.’
People try to salvage merchandise at Music City Vintage after a tornado hit eastern Nashville in March
She was later freed by a neighbor, but revealed if she had gone into her bedroom instead of her bathroom, she may have died.
Lora is now staying with a friend in Nashville, and is helping to rebuild the local community.
The model has helped to raise more than $12,000 for her elderly neighbors to help recover.
Lora (pictured) said: ”I rolled on top of Araya and managed to push my door closed with my feet. The pressure of it felt like the door was going to fall on top of us. It was the most frightening experience of my life.’
Lora was later freed by a neighbour, but revealed if she had gone into her bedroom instead of her bathroom, she may have died.
Among the 26 people who died in the two tornadoes, several were young children and 73,000 people were left without power for days.
The first tornado began early Tuesday morning on March 3, creating a more than 50-mile trail of destruction well after midnight. A second tornado then exploded through communities farther east of Nashville, causing in most of the deaths.
One twister wrecked homes and businesses across a 10-mile stretch of Nashville that included parts of downtown. It smashed more than three dozen buildings, including destroying the tower and stained glass of a historic church.
Another tornado damaged more than 100 structures along a two-mile path of destruction in Putnam County, wiping some homes from their foundations and depositing the wreckage far away.
Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift led celebrity tributes to those affected. Parton shared a video on Twitter, telling Tennesseans: ‘You’re being thought of and we love you.’