When a tornado struck their home, one family lost everything — including, it seemed, their pet cat.

But then they got a miracle, that happened to be captured in the middle of a news broadcast ?❤️

Tornadoes swept through the Midwest United States this week, causing widespread damage and at least one death. One of the worst-hit areas was the 1,000-person town Barnsdall, Oklahoma, damaging between 30 and 40 homes.

Lindsay Crowder was one of the locals affected by the storms. She and her family headed to a local shelter as the sirens wailed.

“The sirens went off the first time and so we went down to the shelter and then went off so we thought the threat was over and so we came back home, and we were watching the radar pretty closely and saw that it was coming straight for us and so we went back down to the shelter and I’m so glad that we did,” she recalled to KJRH.

Unfortunately, they had to leave their pets behind — and when a tornado destroyed their home, they thought their cat Pikachu was gone for good. “I honestly thought we were going to come back, and our house was still going to be here,” Lindsay said.

But then, a miracle happened. With the news cameras rolling, Lindsay searched the rubble for her lost cat, calling Pikachu’s name — and amazingly, she found her alive!

It was a silver lining after this disaster — despite losing everything, they were relieved to know their beloved cat was still with them.

“I’m so happy right now. This is just a house. We can’t replace her, and we can’t replace our kids,” Lindsay told KJRH. “We can’t replace the people and things that mean so much.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Crowder family rebuild their lives; it currently has $3,500 in donations.

According to CBS News, $45 million has been set aside in this year’s budget to help storm-damaged communities. Despite the widespread damage, hope is strong.

“Oklahomans are resilient, and we’re going to rebuild,” Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said.

What a miracle Pikachu was alive! While this family lost nearly everything to the tornado, at least they still have their cat back!

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