Port Arthur resident Michael Brown returned to his flooded home for the first time Saturday since Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas coast Tuesday.

Brown tried to keep his spirits up as he waded through his home looking for keepsakes to retrieve.

An employee of the largest oil refinery in the US - the Motiva - Brown was able to find a positive among the wreckage.

"My family's fine, nobody's hurt. That's the main thing because I think all this material stuff can be replaced."

Port Arthur, Texas - September 2, 2017

1. Various of flooding victim Michael Brown riding in a boat back to his home

2. Brown about to enter his flooded home

3. SOUNDBITE (English): Michael Brown, flooding victim

"This is, it's hard to put into words, very emotional to see your place like this, you know, that you worked so hard for. It's just, I'm kind of numb to tell you the truth."

4. Brown walking through his flooded home

5. SOUNDBITE (English): Michael Brown, flooding victim

"I'll be glad to get in here, get a couple of things. But it, it keeps you up at night. Makes you have bad dreams. Sometimes it tries to pull you down in to that old hopeless state but I mean you can't give up."

6. Brown looking through possessions floating in his home

7. SOUNDBITE (English): Michael Brown, flooding victim

"My insurance, I'm having enough problems with. I don't understand it."

8. Brown finding his wife's engagement ring floating in a jewelry box

9. SOUNDBITE (English): Michael Brown, flooding victim

"I'm glad that I've got family here. My family's fine, nobody's hurt. That's the main thing because I think all this material stuff can be replaced. It's just emotional."

10. Brown riding over the flood waters of his neighbourhood

Port Arthur resident Michael Brown, a Motiva Refinery employee, returned to his flooded home for the first time Saturday since Harvey slammed the coast Tuesday.

Brown tried to keep his spirits up but he became emotional as he waded through his home looking for keepsakes to retrieve.

Post Arthur, Texas - Sept. 2, 2017

1. Various of flooding victim Michael Brown riding in on a boat back to his home

2. Setup shot of Brown about to enter his flooded home

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Brown, flooding victim:

"This is, it's hard to put into word, very emotional to see your place like this, you know, that you worked so hard for. It's just, I'm kind of numb to tell you the truth."

4. Various of Michael Brown walking thru his flooded home

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Brown, flooding victim:

"I'll be glad to get in here, get a couple of things but it's, it keeps you up at night. Makes you have bad dreams. Sometimes it tries to pull you down in to that old hopeless state but I mean you can't give up."

6. Various of Michael Brown looking through possessions floating in his home

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Brown, flooding victim:

"My insurance, I'm having enough problems with. I don't understand it."

8. Various of Michael Brown finding his wife's engagement ring floating in a jewelry box.

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Brown, flooding victim:

"I'm glad that I've got family here. My family's fine, nobody's hurt. That's the main thing because I think all this material stuff can be replaced. It's just emotional."

10. Michael Brown riding over the flood waters of his neighborhood.

Port Arthur resident Michael Brown, a Motiva Refinery employee, returned to his flooded home for the first time Saturday since Harvey slammed the coast Tuesday.

Brown tried to keep his spirits up but he became emotional as he waded through his home looking for keepsakes to retrieve.

Post Arthur, Texas - Sept. 2, 2017

1. Various of flooding victim Michael Brown riding in on a boat back to his home

2. Setup shot of Brown about to enter his flooded home

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Brown, flooding victim:

"This is, it's hard to put into word, very emotional to see your place like this, you know, that you worked so hard for. It's just, I'm kind of numb to tell you the truth."

4. Various of Michael Brown walking thru his flooded home

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Brown, flooding victim:

"I'll be glad to get in here, get a couple of things but it's, it keeps you up at night. Makes you have bad dreams. Sometimes it tries to pull you down in to that old hopeless state but I mean you can't give up."

6. Various of Michael Brown looking through possessions floating in his home

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Brown, flooding victim:

"My insurance, I'm having enough problems with. I don't understand it."

8. Various of Michael Brown finding his wife's engagement ring floating in a jewelry box.

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Brown, flooding victim:

"I'm glad that I've got family here. My family's fine, nobody's hurt. That's the main thing because I think all this material stuff can be replaced. It's just emotional."

10. Michael Brown riding over the flood waters of his neighborhood.

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus021395

Smoke billowed from the blackened shells of burned-out businesses in and around Ferguson, Missouri on Tuesday.

Glass littered the sidewalks in front of stores whose display windows were smashed during the protests that erupted after it was announced that police Officer Darren Wilson wouldn't be indicted for killing Michael Brown on Aug. 9.

Residents said they were saddened by a grand jury's decision to not indict Wilson, which means that Wilson, who is white, will not face any state criminal charges for killing Brown, whose death inflamed deep racial tensions between many black Americans and police.

"This don't look like St. Louis. This don't look like a city in the United States, said Black Jack, Missouri resident, Ashon Dumaka while viewing burned down building near Ferguson. "Right now, this look(s) like some foreign area that the government has betrayed the people."

Dumaka, 46, also said that the destruction following the announcement of the grand jury's decision was not the right message to send. Other residents say they fear what will come next. A Dellwood resident surveyed the lawn around her home after embers from a fire at a nearby business landed on her lawn.

"It's just too much. It really is. I'm just scared. I'm scared to be here," Antoinette Hudson said, who says she has two children with special needs."No telling what's going to happen tonight. I'm just like ready to go. Pack up, foreclose on my house, and go."

Monday night's protests were far more destructive than any of those that followed Brown's death, with more than a dozen businesses badly damaged or destroyed. Authorities reported hearing hundreds of gunshots, which for a time prevented fire crews from fighting the flames.

AP TELEVISION

Near Ferguson, Missouri - November 25, 2014

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Ashon Dumaka / Black Jack, Missouri Resident:

"I was really disappointed, man. I was sad to see that our justice system failed us like that, man. I rather had it seen play out in trial and then if he would've gotten a non-guilty verdict then we would have had to live with that because we would have saw it play out and this way here, this was behind closed doors and as you can see, you know, it's sad, man. This really is sad, man."

AP TELEVISION

Ferguson, Missouri - 25 November 2014

2. Various of memorial for Michael Brown on Canfield Drive

3. Various of roadblock on West Florissant Avenue

AP TELEVISION

Near Ferguson, Missouri - November 25, 2014

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ashon Dumaka / Black Jack, Missouri Resident:

"I don't think this is the message that people want to send, you know to the public that this is right, because it's not right, you know, because this affects people day-to-day lives."

5. Various of burned and damaged businesses on West Florissant Avenue, near Dellwood

6.SOUNDBITE (English) Ashon Dumaka / Black Jack, Missouri Resident:

"This don't look like St. Louis. This don't look like a city in the United States. Right now, this look like some foreign area that the government has betrayed the people."

AP TELEVISION

Dellwood, Missouri - November 25, 2104

7. Wide of fire still burning at women's clothing shop

8. Close-up of fire

AP TELEVISION

Near Ferguson, Missouri - November 25, 2014

9. Various of burned and damaged businesses on West Florissant Avenue, near Dellwood

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ashon Dumaka / Black Jack, Missouri Resident:

"You know, everybody here, we pay our taxes and we expect, you know, the justice to be on our side, no matter who it is."

Smoke billowed from the blackened shells of burned-out businesses in and around Ferguson, Missouri on Tuesday.

Glass littered the sidewalks in front of stores whose display windows were smashed during the protests that erupted after it was announced that police Officer Darren Wilson wouldn't be indicted for killing Michael Brown on Aug. 9.

Residents said they were saddened by a grand jury's decision to not indict Wilson, which means that Wilson, who is white, will not face any state criminal charges for killing Brown, whose death inflamed deep racial tensions between many black Americans and police.

"This don't look like St. Louis. This don't look like a city in the United States, said Black Jack, Missouri resident, Ashon Dumaka while viewing burned down building near Ferguson. "Right now, this look(s) like some foreign area that the government has betrayed the people."

Dumaka, 46, also said that the destruction following the announcement of the grand jury's decision was not the right message to send. Other residents say they fear what will come next. A Dellwood resident surveyed the lawn around her home after embers from a fire at a nearby business landed on her lawn.

"It's just too much. It really is. I'm just scared. I'm scared to be here," Antoinette Hudson said, who says she has two children with special needs."No telling what's going to happen tonight. I'm just like ready to go. Pack up, foreclose on my house, and go."

Monday night's protests were far more destructive than any of those that followed Brown's death, with more than a dozen businesses badly damaged or destroyed. Authorities reported hearing hundreds of gunshots, which for a time prevented fire crews from fighting the flames.

AP TELEVISION

Ferguson, Missouri - 25 November 2014

1. Various of memorial for Michael Brown on Canfield Drive

AP TELEVISION

Near Ferguson, Missouri - November 25, 2014

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ashon Dumaka / Black Jack, Missouri Resident:

"I was really disappointed, man. I was sad to see that our justice system failed us like that, man. I rather had it seen play out in trial and then if he would've gotten a non-guilty verdict then we would have had to live with that because we would have saw it play out and this way here, this was behind closed doors."

AP TELEVISION

Ferguson, Missouri - 25 November 2014

3. Various of roadblock on West Florissant Avenue

AP TELEVISION

Near Ferguson, Missouri - November 25, 2014

4. Various of burned and damaged businesses on West Florissant Avenue, near Dellwood

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ashon Dumaka / Black Jack, Missouri Resident:

"I don't think this is the message that people want to send, you know to the public that this is right, because it's not right, you know, because this affects people day-to-day lives."

6. Various of burned and damaged businesses on West Florissant Avenue, near Dellwood

7.SOUNDBITE (English) Ashon Dumaka / Black Jack, Missouri Resident:

"This don't look like St. Louis. This don't look like a city in the United States. Right now, this look like some foreign area that the government has betrayed the people."

8. Various of burned buildings

AP TELEVISION

Dellwood, Missouri - November 25, 2104

9. Wide of fire still burning at women's clothing shop

10. Various of fire

11. Residents walk in backyard that is adjoining buildings still burning.

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Antoinette Hudson, Dellwood resident, mom of two special needs children, evacuated home last night, asked if the community can overcome divisions.

"It's just too much. It really is. I'm just scared. I'm scared to be here. No telling what's going to happen tonight. I'm just like ready to go. Pack up, foreclose on my house, and go. "

13. Medium of charred debris sitting on lawn facing Hudson's back yard.

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Antoinette Hudson, resident, Dellwood resident, describing burning embers flying toward her home

"It was a bunch of campfires, just falling. Our grass is burnt from the cause of the building burning up."

15. Wide of business still smoldering

16. Close-up of smoldering building.

SHOTLIST

Florissant, Missouri

1. Wide of Ferguson Church Easter services being held at St. Louis Christian College

2. Worshipers singing during service

3. Pastor Stacy Garner speaking UPSOUND (English): "We thank you that the grave could not hold him. That the grave could not keep him down."

4. Worshipers crying

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Pastor Stacy Garner, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Ferguson:

"We are convinced that our faith is not shaken, that our faith stands firm in God, our building was shaken - but the church itself wasn't shaken. Our determination is to rebuild."

6. Close of bible in Garner's hand

Ferguson, Missouri

7. Wide exterior of First Baptist Church of Ferguson

8. Various of pile of debris outside church

9. Wide of cross above church

10. Debris on ground from storm

Florissant, Missouri

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanie Edwards, Member of Ferguson Church (standing next to her husband Bob):

"You know the building can be rebuilt, we are just so thankful that no lives were lost, those lives can't be replaced, the building can be."

Ferguson, Missouri

12. Damaged car in church parking lot

13. Banner reading (English) "Christ is Risen"

STORYLINE

Parishioners of a Missouri church were forced to move their Easter Sunday Service to another venue following the most powerful tornado in the area in over 44 years, that caused severe damage to their place of worship.

Friday's tornado also destroyed at least 100 homes in a densely populated suburban area but remarkably caused no loss of life.

Worshippers from Ferguson Church were forced to move their service across town to St. Louis Christian College in Florissant after their church sustained considerable damage in the tornado.

Pastor Stacy Garner, from the First Baptist Church of Ferguson, who led Sunday's service said that despite their building being shaken and damaged their faith remained strong.

A sentiment echoed by one of his parishioners.

"The building can be rebuilt, we are just so thankful that no lives were lost, those lives can't be replaced, the building can be," said Jeanie Edwards, a member of the Ferguson Church.

Early warnings, good timing and common sense all helped prevent a tragedy Friday night.

At Ferguson Christian Church, nearly three dozen people were gathered on Good Friday to watch the movie "Passion of the Christ" when the sirens began to blare.

Pastor Stacy Garner paused the movie and hurried everyone to the basement.

They were out of harm's way as the tornado imploded the sanctuary above them.

Like hundreds of residents in surrounding communities, church members have been back trying to salvage what they could.

The tornado peaked at an EF-4 level, second-highest on the Enhanced Fujita scale, packing winds of up to 200 miles per hour (321 kilometres) shattering hundreds of panes of glass at the main terminal and blowing a shuttle bus to the top of a roof.

It was the most powerful twister in metropolitan St. Louis since 1967, and eerily, it followed a path similar to that of the earlier tornado.

County officials said during a news conference on Sunday that 2,700 buildings were damaged with one hundred of those destroyed.