THE MAN WHO RODE A TORNADO

19-ye ar-old high school student Matt Suter was visiting his grandmother in her caravan in Missouri, USA. Earlier in the day the weather was nice, but during the afternoon dark clouds started gathering in the sky. At night time, it started raining heavily and strong winds were blowing against the caravan. It was then Matt heard a strange loud noise. “It was like eleven aeroplanes around us,” he said. Suddenly, the walls, floor and ceiling started shaking. Furniture was moving around in all directions. Matt tried to hold onto the sofa, but he couldn’t. Something lifted him off his feet and out as the walls of the caravan were collapsing . When Matt woke up, he was lying on the grass in the middle of a field. The tornado threw him 400 metres from the caravan. He had a cut on his head and some small cuts on his body. He went to a neighbour for help. The neighbour drove him back to the caravan. His grandma was OK, but the caravan was in pieces. Matt’s grandma was very delighted to see him. Matt was very lucky to escape disaster. No other person on record has travelled that distance by tornado and lived to tell the story. For Matt, it was a frightening experience. “I always wanted to see a tornado; but I definitely didn’t want to be in one!” he said.