Grit amid the grief after tornadoes
Bishop sees ‘incredible spirit’ of Nashville area
In the wake of tornadoes that killed 25 people, residents of Middle Tennessee turned to grieving, picking up the pieces of shattered lives and helping each other.
A storm that struck out of the darkness early Tuesday produced two tornadoes that left a path of destruction across four counties, including Putnam, which was hit the hardest.
In Nashville, schools were closed until Monday.
“Nashvillians have experienced a traumatic event, and we know it will take time to heal,” said Adrienne Battle, Metro Nashville Public Schools interim director.
Utility crews worked to repair more than 600 downed poles and restore power to nearly 20,000 Nashville residents. Many survivors wondered how to rebuild after homes, businesses and schools were damaged or destroyed. Communities turned out to help those injured or left homeless or simply to share their grief.
“Tonight is an opportunity to come together as a city,” Mount Zion Bishop Joseph Walker said at a Nashville prayer service. “There has been a devastating level of loss, but we’ve also seen the incredible spirit of Nashville, the resilience, the volunteers, people are doing great things.”
Among those responding: longtime Nashville resident Taylor Swift, who donated $1 million to the Middle Tennessee Emergency response Fund, according to her spokesperson Tree Paine.
“Nashville is my home,” the pop singer wrote on Instagram Thursday. “And the fact that so many people have lost their homes and so much more in Middle Tennessee is devastating to me.”
In Putnam County, especially in
Cookeville, rescue and relief efforts continued.
Eighteen people in the county, including five children, were confirmed dead as of late Wednesday. Among the injured, 88 people were taken to Cookeville Regional Medical Center.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that all missing persons had been accounted for.
Wednesday, White County Sheriff’s volunteer officer Jacob Simmons and a search dog named Nala combed through lumber piles that used to be backyard sheds and peered under Putnam County homes flattened to their foundations in an increasingly desperate search for survivors.
The volunteers, speaking in hushed tones to listen for signs of life, rechecked homes marked by painted X’s that signaled crews had come through once. Six- and seven-person teams fanned out across a 25-acre marshy Cookeville field in rubber boots and waders.
“The growth is 6 to 7 feet high in a very thick, marshy area,” Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said. “A lot of debris is there. We’ve got weather coming in tomorrow, so we’re trying to get through as much of that as possible.” Two people were killed in Nashville, four in Wilson County and one man in Benton County.
Six people spent the night in emergency shelters, but most of those who lost their homes found shelter with relatives or in hotels. Among the fatalities were James and Donna Eaton – married for 58 years – who died side by side on a mattress thrown from their bed in Mount Juliet.
Many who survived shared harrowing stories of the tornado’s destructive power.
Valerie Fisher, who spoke at Mount Zion Baptist Church, said she was awakened in bed in north Nashville by a severe weather alert on her phone.
“It said, ‘Take shelter,’ and I’ve never seen that before. I was trying to, you know, wake up a little and read it, but there was no time,” she said. “There was no time to move.” The next moment, a tornado ripped the roof from her home and sent a tree slamming into the house. Fisher said the force of the wind pulled her from her bed, pinned her against the wall and pummeled her with debris.
Pastor Derrick Moore of Hopewell Missionary Baptist told the gathering at Mount Zion that his church, built in 1878, lost stained glass windows, its ceiling and walls. Moore said he was still figuring out where the congregation would worship, hold weddings and funerals and move forward. “That night was so bad, but then there was such a beautiful morning,” he said. “I must believe that joy will come.”
Wednesday, hundreds off volunteers took off work – in some cases after employers closed for the day – and headed for hard-hit neighborhoods to help homeowners and renters sift through debris to find belongings and mementos. Many hauled piles of brick, roofing and siding to the street.
Tracy Sparks, 51, was one of about 30 members of Poplar Grove Baptist Church who came to the flattened home of fellow church members Peter and Regina Weber. The couple, both in their 80s, remained hospitalized in stable condition after the storm destroyed their home in Baxter.
Donna Barnett, 50, sorted through the rubble that was once her home, picking out photos still intact among the wreckage. As the tornado ripped through their home, she and her husband, Gary, hid under a mattress on the second story – barely having time to react. When it was over, they were lying on the concrete foundation of their home.
She said she has barely thought about how lucky they are to be alive. Next door, her neighbors, the Kimberlin family, were killed. “That sweet young family,” she said as tears streamed across her face.