Homes ripped off their foundations, and pieces of people's lives now hidden by darkness.

"This is something I would expect to see on National Geographic. This is completely out of there for me," according to Tim Whitlock, a storm victim.

Whitlock moved here from New York a year ago.

His house is now condemned, just like his neighbor's.

"I went into my room earlier today and the entire window was busted through, there was a hole in my ceiling," Whitlock said.

Emergency Management officials say 30 homes in Johnston County sustained damage -- of those seven were destroyed.

"This is probably one of the worst disasters that our community has faced probably more so than when Hurricanes Fran and Floyd come through," said Paul Whitehurst, the Chief of the Kenly Fire Department.

State and federal teams, along with Governor Mike Easley, are expected to assess the damage first thing Monday.

Meantime, residents here say they'll salvage what they can after a storm they'll never forget.

"It just sounded like a freight train... I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen a tornado my whole life, 41 years I've never seen a tornado or heard one. But now I'll never forget the sound," said storm victim Curt Jernigan.

60-year-old Maryland Gomez was the only resident killed by the tornado.

Neighbors say she'll be missed.

"Mrs. Gomez was a good person, Mr. Gomez was really nice, her son was a good person, I'm sad to hear that Mrs. Gomez passed away," said Stephen Hooks.

Emergency officials say two others suffered minor injuries.

The Red Cross says storm victims are either staying with family and friends, or at a local hotel that offered them rooms for the night.

The Red Cross also tells us no one's staying in the shelter overnight, but that it will reopen at eight tomorrow morning.

They're asking all storm victims to show up in the morning so they can assess what their immediate needs will be in the interim.