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Reed Arnold was watching TV Saturday at his home in Clarksville, Tenn., when he saw an alert on his phone. He stepped out and captured the rapidly moving clouds with a graceful whirlwind. A few minutes later, the twister hit his neighborhood.
“One second you’re sitting in your house, but suddenly, all these murders happen,” he said.
A sense of uncertainty gripped Clarksville and other Middle Tennessee communities Sunday as crews searched for survivors and officials surveyed damage from powerful storms and tornadoes that killed at least six people. people in the region and injured more than 60.
The storms and tornadoes, part of a wide swath of severe weather that moved South on Saturday, left behind a lot of destruction that included parts of Clarksville, near the Kentucky border, which three people died, and the village of Nashville, where three others. was killed.
On Sunday, Clarksville, Nashville and other Tennessee cities and towns worked to clear debris from a landscape where pink stuck to tree branches, crumpled children’s toys and flags torn to ribbons.
“It’s very difficult to watch what happened, to talk to the victims, to be on the ground,” said Gov. Bill Lee at a press conference in Madison, after viewing the damage from the storm. Mr. Lee, who? declared a state of emergency on Sundaysaid the state has begun the formal process of seeking disaster assistance from the federal government.
Directing his comments to those most affected by the storm, Mr. Lee, “Although we cannot take away the pain and difficulty and heartbreak of what happened to you, we can go with you.”
Officials in Montgomery County, which includes Clarksville, said two adults and one child died as a result of the tornado. Officials conducted a second investigation and prepared for the next phase of recovery.
Jimmie Edwards, manager of Montgomery County Emergency Services, said 62 injured people were taken to hospitals, including nine who were transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and are in critical condition.
“This morning, many of our families are suffering,” said Mr. Edwards on Sunday.
More than 52,000 customers were without power in Tennessee, and Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said at a press conference Sunday that it could take several weeks to fully restore power.
Residents said the afternoon tornado took them by surprise, giving them little time to seek shelter.
On Sunday afternoon, Eric Dzidotor visited the piles of debris in Clarksville where his house once stood. Said Mr. Dzidotor, two years ago he moved into the house with his wife, their three children, his mother-in-law and his brother-in-law.
His mother-in-law was currently in the hospital with injuries she suffered during the storm, he said. His brother-in-law, aged 26, did not survive.
During the storm, Mr. Dzidotor jumped from the top floor of his house to his neighbor’s yard, injuring his back. “It’s like falling out of an elevator,” he said.
When he fell to the ground and it started to rain, he called out for his family. He pulled his daughters, aged 2, 4 and 17, from their collapsed home, one of them with leg injuries, before unsuccessfully trying to save his brother-in-law.
Matthew Burns received a panicked phone call from his wife and three children, who were working at his restaurant, Dream Wingz, in Clarksville while he was on his way to deliver an order.
“All I heard was, ‘Go to the kitchen, go to the kitchen,'” he said.
The tornado spun the car of Mr. Burns, he said. But his family was safe and the restaurant was still intact when he returned.
“We are still standing up,” he said on Sunday morning, after a night of serving about 1,500 chicken wings to people at home.
Wes Golden, the mayor of Montgomery County, called the tornado a “terrible disaster,” adding that the county will need more resources and time to recover. Schools in the district will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, he said.
“We were on the ground, and we first saw neighbors helping neighbors,” said Mr. Golden, choked with emotion. “I have never been prouder of being mayor.”
In Clarksville, Rachel Tunstall and her husband pulled their car out from under their roof Sunday, just two months after they got married and moved into their home. rent.
“This is our bedroom,” said Ms. Tunstall, 33, pointed to a space now missing a wall and a roof.
A few minutes after seeing the tornado warning on her phone, Ms. Tunstall the wind, felt heavy in his ears and told his wife to hide in their basement half-bath. On Sunday, outside what was left of her unit, she kept plastic boxes and salvageable items, including the Christmas decorations the newlyweds had recently hung.
“My husband and I are both doing well,” said Ms. Tunstall, “and that’s the blessing.”
Storm damage was also reported in Alabama, where high winds brought down trees and hailstones the size of Ping-Pong balls. rain below.
The bad weather also reached Mississippi, hitting areas southeast of Jackson, and the Florida Panhandle. While it may seem strange to think of tornadoes this time of year, there are approximately 43 tornadoes. Reported every December in the United States, usually over a cluster of southern states.
In Davidson County, which includes Nashville, officials said three people are dead because of the bad weather. Mayor Freddie O’Connell of Nashville declared a state of emergency for the city and Davidson County, allowing the area to immediately receive state and federal resources.
During a press conference on Sunday, Mr. O’Connell has 26,000 customers in Nashville without power. An official of the Nashville Electric Service of Hendersonville – which is just northeast of Nashville and suffered the most damage – said the service will be extended. Officials say they don’t know the number of storm-related injuries.
Three weather-related accidents, including a head injury, were reported in Dresden, Tenn., west of Nashville, said Ray Wiggington, emergency management director for Weakley County. At least one mobile home flipped over, he said.
All the injuries occurred on a single road in Dresden, he said, adding that it was unclear whether the damage was caused by “a real tornado or just straight winds.”
He said an EF3 tornado, which has winds of 136 to 165 miles per hour, is “almost the same category” in December 2021, adding, “The that’s on everyone’s mind.”
Emily Cochrane, Judson Jones, Flat Roll and Johnny Diaz correct report.