MCMINN COUNTY, Tenn. — Communities and families try to recover after tornadoes tore through the area one week ago.
The National Weather Service says an EF-2 tornado injured 20 people and caused heavy damage to the Deerfield Estates area in McMinn County.
Some homes are demolished. Other are barely left standing.
“It looks like a war zone,” said Kathi Grand.
Kathi lives in Deerfield Estates with her husband and mother.
Tuesday night, they were all in bed when their cell phones went off.
“Alert. Alert. Warning. You have no time. Evacuate. Get out. Seek shelter,” Kathi recalled.
So, that’s what they did.
“We just got in the truck. We were going down 307 out of the subdivision and from we saw the sky [turn] yellow, green. We saw transformers popping,” she said.
One week later, Kathi’s home hasn’t changed much.
A blue tarp covers the side of the house and pieces of siding are barely hanging on.
“It’s just devastating and I can’t imagine what those poor people went through. If we had more time – we literally had a ten minute window to get out. If we had time, we would’ve warned other people,” Kathi said.
Over at the command post there are less workers than there were a week ago but one person has remained the same – the mayor of the county.
He’s been in charge of making sure things run smoothly for the county and the clean-up while also dealing with his family who was directly impacted.
Last Wednesday, we stopped by Bill Gentry’s home.
He’s Mayor Gentry’s brother.
“He’s actually sent me texts saying, ‘John – doing a great job.’ I’m like, ‘I should be at your house. So, they’re taken care of but it also helps me feel for the folks I’m not related to to know what they’re going through,” Mayor Gentry said.
One week ago, Bill’s home was wet from the rain and had pieces of debris scattered everywhere.
One week later, the home is already gutted and being prepared to be rebuilt.
Mayor Gentry tells about 50 homes in the county suffered major damage.
by Stephanie Santostasi | Wednesday, December 7th 2016
