For many people around the world, tornados are a deadly reality, and most families in at-risk areas do their best to be prepared for their destructive arrival.
Though the human costs of tornado disasters are widely reported, the effect these storming twisters have on animals, particular family pets, is often left out of news coverage.
One news reporter was bravely filming from the rubble of a home, which had lain in the path of a powerful tornado. Suddenly he began to hear cries.
As he climbed over the rubble (which before the tornado was the site of two homes and a barn) the reporter started following the cries.
He eventually found a tiny kitten, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He carried the terrified animal away from danger, keeping him safe and warm in his coat.
The kitten has since been reunited with its family, who later revealed that he was recently born as part of a litter in their barn.
No humans were killed or injured when the quarter-mile tornado hit the town of Cedarville in Ohio, USA, but sadly the animals of the town did not get off so easily…
After finding the kitten alive, the reporter said: 'Within a tragic situation, we've been given a glimmer of hope here.'
Watch the emotional video of the surviving kitten below: