Kyle Garnett remembers when a tornado tore open his barbershop door five years ago today in Bridgeport. 

He says it was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

"Yesterday they were talking about a tornado watch, and I was like on guard like, 'Oh my God, not again. Not again,'" Garnett says.

His business and many others on East Main Street were destroyed by the storm. Local residents and business owners say it's taken years for the neighborhood to rebuild.

Garnett was out of business for a year. Marlon Moran, who owns a bakery next door, says it took him four years to reopen. Both men say they now have a special compassion for tornado victims around the country.

Business owners say the recovery has moved slowly because FEMA hasn't granted any assistance in relation to the tornado.