As odd as it seems, that can be a lucky thing. I was in an F5, where it hit our power plant, before devastating the town. Many power lines were down, and gas lines were broken. If the power had still been on, we would have had raging fires, in addition to all the storm damage.

never seen a transformer explode in flames like that with such black smoke. But there's always a first time, I guess.

that the dielectric oil inside a transformer is the source.

We specifically got a house with a basement when we moved down there in 1995. Years later an awful tornado went through the town wiping out a new housing development (Cookeville).