What happened?
On April 9, 2015, Clem Schultz, aged 85, was at his home in Fairdale, Illinois, with his wife, Geraldine, known as Geri.
"We just finished supper," Schultz, 85, told ABC News. "My wife called me in the kitchen. She said, 'Look out the window.' And sure enough I looked out -- we see this big, ugly tornado coming."
"It looked like it was going to miss us," he said.
Geri stayed in the kitchen while he went upstairs to get some lanterns.
As the loud tornado loomed, Schultz decided to start recording cell phone video.
The video shows the tornado move closer and the sky darken, before the picture goes black.
"Up until the time the house started moving, it still looked to me like it was going to go to the west -- and miss us," he said. "Suddenly, I realized I was wrong.
I was standing next to the chimney when the whole place went down," Shultz said.
The chimney fell on top of him; he remembers he was buried in a pile of rubble.
"All of a sudden it kind of got quiet," Schultz continued. "'I asked myself 'Are you dead?' But then I said, 'No you can't hurt when you're dead,' and I hurt."
He said he later learned he had a crushed vertebrae.
As several people helped Schultz dig his way out, he said one of them told him, "'Don't look down because your wife is under you -- and she's dead.'"
He looked for her pulse, but couldn't find it.
Clem also said that he wont be living in Fairdale anymore. However some time later, he did return to Fairdale with a Black Shepard to meet his former neighbor, Joe Wiegand. Clem didn't plan to rebuild the house because of his "memories" and looking at moving close to his kids.
Why did Clem keep recording and did not seek shelter?
The reason Clem wants this to be out there is to "save lives". Clem also stayed in the attic because he thought the tornado was tracking away from him, but when he realized it was coming for him; it was already too late. He was unable to move fast because of his age.
Joe Wiegand
After the incident, Clem showed the infamous video to Joe, this is what the conversation was like:
CLEM: About two minutes into this, my house came down and knocked the phone out of my hand and it kept recording.
JOE: So now you are still standing up taking video right now?
CLEM: Right about now is when I realized ‘uh-oh.'
JOE: See the shaking? Your house is shaking apart right now, isn't it?
CLEM: Yeah. At this point, I was laying under several feet of rubble, wondering why I was still alive.
CLEM: He said ‘okay, now you're by this beam, I want you to sit down and put your feet down here on the floor, but don't look down.' I said ‘why don't look down?' He said, ‘because your wife is right under you and she's dead.'
JOE: You look down?
CLEM: Of course. I reached down, and got her pulse…no pulse. We had propane leaking. They told me, ‘you gotta get out of here.'
Who's dead and who's not?
Clem miraculously survived with a broken vertebra. He was send to a hospital in Madison for back issues, likely due to the tornado. His wife named Geri Schultz(aged 67) and a neighbor named Jacklyn Klosa(aged 69, the house in front that Clem filmed was Jacklyn's house) both were killed. His dog named Missy was uninjured but went suddenly missing after.
Clarence "Clem" Schultz:
Aftermath photos of Clem's now destroyed house:
Hope Clem is feeling better now
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Aftermath (Clem can be seen at 6:49):
Interview with Clem & other survivors:
Interview with Clem only:
About the tornado:
As of 2023 Clem is still alive and campaigns for tornado safety:
https://www.fox6now.com/weather/am-i-dead-or-not-tornado-survivor-shares-story-as-a-warning-about-severe-weather-safety
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Remember kids, If a tornado appears stationary or is not moving left or right, it's probably moving towards you!
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the silence is mad creepy
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Such a tragic story. I feel so bad for him and his wife. At least his doggo stayed with him
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I always think about how natural disasters could never kill me because I'd just hide better than anyone else
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Yay I found coins, time to gamble
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YOU CAN GAMBLE??
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Its very unlikeley that a disaster hits me, I live nowhere near any water in britain, Id like to think ive got a 60% chance of surviving.
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Congratulations!!! I think this is officially the most frightening video I have ever seen!
Without darkness, one cannot know the light
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I really wish i knew how to delete my comment because I've now read and watched these properly and realised he lost his wife and I'm so very sorry to him ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
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My man Clarence "Clem" Schultz needs to be doing the lottery for real 🤞🤞🤞
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You'd think the old bastard would be wise enough to 'take shelter.' Lucky to be alive.
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Man set up a camera and was in the storm cellar! Lol
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I'd stick my dick in it
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I don't understand why people don't use rammed earth in the tornado areas from the US. This walls, basically all cement. You only need to change the roof.
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Because tornadoes are very localized destruction. Very few people are affected. It isn't like a hurricane or earthquake where entire cities are hit.
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Doesn't matter... rammed earth is much cheaper, and ideal for suburbia.
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is that really stronger than concrete? i don't understand how it could be
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Yes it absolutely can be stronger than concrete. Most houses when they are destroyed from a tornado don't get blown away from the wind itself but the pressure difference on the inside of the house compared to the outside. Buildings literally explode and most structures aren't designed to withstand loads like that. The Rainsville EF5 is a good example since that one ripped a concrete foundation of a house out of the soil and ground it into dust. Threw giant chunks of concrete hundreds of feet.
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Could you link a credible source that proves your claim about pressure being the culprit, and not wind speed?
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More photos and shit here https://www.weather.gov/hun/4272011_dekalb_county
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I don't know if stronger but it has proven longevity. Many ruins thousands of years old are rammed earth, Romans used to add lime and pebbles to make it strong, provably that's the actual method used for making the pyramids, who knows. Anyway, rammed earth by it's own is clay but mixed up with lime ( calcium hydroxide) turns it into stone, or some form of limestone compound when interacting with the environment. It's also cheap and has natural insulation again heat, and you can add other insulation in it.
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I think Clem passed a few years ago. Not sure. But this is one of the most horrific tornado footage out there.
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I watch storm chaser videos and it's really unnerving to see shots of tornados from angles where a storm chaser would generally be getting the hell out of there.
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Clem murdered his wife and used the tornado as a cover
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Metal af low-key
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I hope Clem's doing good.
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That video gives me the willies.
A combo of my dad absolutely going apeshit during severe weather and living on the same street as a tornado siren as a kid made me phobic of these fuckers for a long time.
I watched the weather channel waaaayyyy too often for a kid 🤣
I love watching weather and storm chaser videos, but sometimes they still spook me, like this one.
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lesson learned. it's never late to run for your life.
lesson learned.doing ntg is worse than failling.
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They tried giving it the lead paint stare instead of evacuating. Unfortunately, the tornado's supervisor was unavailable.
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"YOU CALL THIS A STORM?! BLOW, YOU SONNUIVA BITCH!!!!! BLOW!!!!!!!!!"
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I would have scared it away
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Seeing a tornado is something beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
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Asshole landed on her!
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shit looks like from cod bo2 zombies nuketown tornado shit bruh
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Bro that was the worst map from bo2 zombies even tranzit was better
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only map i remember having a tornado so
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I'm calling you alt-right because you're using alt-right dog whistles. Don't like it? Don't use them. Though it's always been funny to me the way you fascistic fucks pretend to be upset when you get identified for being exactly what you are.
I don't give a fuck about your view on religion.
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