Reporter Rose French has this dispatch:

On Monday, Kevin Farmer, an associate pastor at Sanctuary Covenant Church, described his efforts to save the still-unidentified man who died in his van from tornado-related injuries. On Sunday afternoon, Farmer was with a small group of staff members at the church's offices on 37th Ave N., between Emerson and Fremont avenues, when the tornado swept through. The group huddled in the basement, praying and listening to the wind howl and screech above them. They were only down there a few minutes.

When the havoc was over, they ventured up from the basement. The church's offices were not severely damaged, but staff members spotted a man slumped in a van across the street. Farmer, who is a former lifeguard and also has EMT training, ran over quickly to help.

"A lot of it was instinctual, you just react," Farmer said. "You want to help out anybody that you can. As a pastor I'm always concerned about people's mortal well-being as well as their spiritual."

Farmer said the man's pulse was "barely discernible" and thought he might possibly have a chance at making it. But then he saw a massive injury on the right side of the man's face. Farmer said it appeared the wound was caused by a tree limb that had been driven through the windshield by the force of the tornado.

"We had 911 on the phone, but I knew they weren't going to make it" in time, said Farmer.

He said he just kept thinking about the man's family, and how devastated they were going to be when they heard the news of his death.

Farmer said several members of Sanctuary Covenant Church had damage done to their homes. Church congregants and other volunteers with faith-based organizations were out in the Jordan neighborhood on Monday, picking up debris along the streets hardest hit by the tornado. They used chain saws to cut up downed trees and offered water and food to volunteers as well as people who's homes were damaged in the storm.

"People need to continue and try to help wherever they can," Farmer said. "You help because it's called being a good neighbor. It's the right thing to do."