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‘It haunts me' says survivor of 1998 tornadoes who lost family, was tossed into tree

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Ashley Himes was 5 years old when she lost her family in the 1998 tornadoes that struck Central Florida.

Her face was badly scratched and she had a broken leg, a ruptured spleen and a bruised lung after she was found in a tree in the middle of the night.

"I remember calling for help, really, and waking up in the dark and cold, and next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital," she said.

Forty-two people were killed during the powerful tornadoes, which swept from Kissimmee to Daytona Beach and from Sanford through Winter Garden.

Himes now lives in Indiana and is the mother of five children.

WATCH: Survivor of 1998 tornadoes who was found in tree describes experience

She only remembers bits and pieces of the night the tornadoes barreled through her neighborhood.

Himes’ family lived off Myrtle Street in Seminole County.

Their mobile home was destroyed.

She was the only one in her household of five to survive.

The tornado killed her mother, her mother's parents and her mother's fiance.

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"Of course, you know it happened during the middle of the night, so we were all sleeping, so I just kind of woke up and I was in the woods," said Himes.

Read: Tornado facts and how to stay safe

Himes was raised by her father’s mother.

Her twins were born on her mother’s birthday.

Himes said, now that she’s a mother, she thinks about the night she lost her family often.

"It terrifies me every day. It definitely haunts me, because, if something ever happens to me or their dad, who's going take care of them?” she said.

Himes’ grandmother still lives in Central Florida.

Watch: Deadliest tornado outbreak in Central Florida