GRAND JUNCTION, Tenn. — Residents in the rural town of Grand Junction, Tennessee are working to piece their lives back together after severe storms caused major damage in the area.
Grand Junction was one of the places hit hardest by the storm. The National Weather Service said Friday that a category EF-3 tornado with peak winds of 150 mph moved from Slayden, Mississippi into Grand Junction.
A WREG viewer shared photos of damages caused by the storms. Photos show trees littering roadways, roofs torn off buildings, and even a train lying on its side near the railroad tracks.
Gregory Hudson says he’s still trying to grasp what he and his family experienced Thursday morning. He says he was home with his wife and daughters when a tornado hammered their neighborhood.
“We just began to pray,” Hudson said. “I could hear the trees being uprooted. So, it sounds like you never would imagine.”
Hudson and his family were unharmed, but when he walked outside, massive trees were uprooted from the ground, vehicles were destroyed, houses were severely damaged, and the community was in shock.
City officials say there are no reported injuries, but the storm demolished multiple businesses and homes.
The tornado even ripped the roof off of Grand Junction Church of Christ on Highway 57 and flipped several train cars off a railroad.
Hardeman County Sheriff John Doolen says all his deputies have been working nonstop to assist where they are needed.
Crews are now working to clear roadways and homes of downed trees and debris. A utility crew is also working to restore power to the area.
Curtis Lane, the mayor of Grand Junction, says that he was stuck inside his home for a short period of time due to trees that had fallen near his house blocking the exits. He was uninjured.
Lane says many residents don’t have power or running water.
He says crews from numerous agencies have been working around the clock to get utilities up and running and assist anyone in need.
“Every municipality in Hardeman County has touched base with us wanting to come in and help,” Lane said. “One thing about Hardeman County what’s so good about us is everybody works together and helps each other.”
The town of around 340 people was also hit by severe storms in 2021. A tornado touched down in the small community, knocking down trees and splitting a mobile home in half.
Four people were killed in West Tennessee, including a father and teenage daughter in Fayette County, during the storms and tornadoes that rolled through the area Wednesday night into thursday morning.