Miriam Rios was injured along with the rest of her family after the EF-3 tornado hit the town of Salado on Tuesday.
The Rios family were inside their mobile home when the 165-mph winds tore through it, completely destroying the structure and sending them each flying, KWTX reported on Thursday.
Miriam Rios was in a critical condition after she was found hanging from the tree after getting thrown by the tornado.
Miriam’s baby brother, Ezra, was also found in a nearby field following the tornado but only suffered minor injuries after getting ejected from the mobile home.
The children’s uncle, Stephen Perez, said the family originally tried to drive away from the tornado before retreating back to the mobile home due to the severe hail.
“[Their mom] remembers waking up, rolling over on her side, and seeing her daughter in a tree and she can’t get up or do anything. She just rolled over and cried,” Perez told KWTX.
The mother, Vanessa Perez, who was pregnant at the time, lost her baby due to the injuries she suffered. The father Joel Rios was also thrown by the tornado and suffered serious injuries.
The Rioses have also had their home completely turned to rubble, with all their possessions gone too.
“It’s just the foundation that’s left. There’s absolutely nothing,” Perez said. “And [my sister] was really proud about that home.”
Perez has since set up a GoFundMe for the family so they can rebuild their lives. At the time of publication, the fundraiser has attracted more than $39,000 in donations.
“With the family being in the home while the tornado [was] taking away everything they’ve worked so desperately hard for; they manage to hang on to each other,” Perez wrote on the description page.
Newsweek has contacted Perez.
Naomi Benavides, the sister of Vanessa Perez, also described the destruction the tornado caused to the family’s mobile home.
“There’s nothing left,” Benavides told the Austin American-Statesman. “It’s all been shattered.”
The Rios family were among 23 people who had been injured during the tornado, with 12 requiring hospital treatment, Bell County Judge David Blackburn confirmed.
Blackburn said the winds also damaged 63 buildings and 106 homes.
“I think the damage, while significant, certainly could have been worse,” Blackburn said. “There are going to be many, many more days of cleanup to follow this. So, this is just the beginning of a long stretch.”