Terrifying video reveals the view from inside a tornado as it strikes Norman, Oklahoma

Video footage reveals the swirling winds and flying debris surrounding a shelter in Norman, Oklahoma. In this still a tree is in the process of being uprooted and rain lashes down

    

Few people have seen the destructive force of a storm from the inside of a tornado.

But now video footage reveals the terrifying swirling winds and flying debris surrounding a shelter in Norman, Oklahoma.

The tornado destroyed a number of buildings in the town and skirted the University of Oklahoma's campus, according to local news reports.

Chris Mance, who lives in the neighbourhood, shot the incredible footage on May 6, around 20 miles south (16km) of Oklahoma City.

The grey-toned video shows lashing rain and wind carrying debris such as branches ripped from trees and various piece of debris, through the air.

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It is sometimes difficult to make out any shapes, as visibility drops to almost zero at times, Business Insider noted.

At one point some foliage and even what looks like a wheel, hits the window of the shelter.

It appears that tornado moves over the shelter so that it's in the eye of the storm.

The conditions seem suddenly calm immediately outside and a twig can be seen lying lifeless just beyond the shelter, as other debris continues to be whipped around by the storm, just metres away.

Aerial images from KFOR show the destruction the storm caused nearby, with roofs ripped off buildings and a mobile home park completely destroyed.

Officials in the area said that at least 12 people were hurt, with five of them in a critical condition.

The local news channel reported that guests sheltered in a hallway at the centre of The Normal Hotel.

Chunks of wall were ripped off the structure and the damage was described as 'significant'.

There were also reports of a storm shelter 'floating up out of the ground' as the storm raged.

Luckily, the woman noticed the shelter looked unstable as she sought a place to ride out the storm with her family and found that afterwards, it was floating in a pool of water, having been ripped from the ground.

'That could have been my children in there...something could have happened,' she told News9.