MCNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. — Recovery efforts continue in McNairy County, where five people were killed in an EF-3 tornado two weeks ago.
“Our phones woke us up and we had the TV on watching the weather and the weatherman said ‘Selmer, Tennessee, take cover now’ and I think we left maybe two minutes before it hit maybe,” said Nicholas McCord, a Selmer resident.
The recovery process is well underway, with mountains of debris lining just about every street in this city.
“Easter’s always a big time for us. I mean, we believe in Jesus Christ, and we think Jesus Christ was with us,” said McCord. “I mean, that’s the only reason we made it through. He died for our sins, and he steadily protecting us.”
Pastor Barry Bishop says he and other local ministers have been working to counsel and comfort those impacted, stressing this damage is an act of nature, not an act of God.
“We’ve been taught religiously that God has something to do with that, and I’m like God doesn’t have anything to do with that, but what he does promise is whatever you go through, I’m with you. I don’t leave you. I don’t forsake you,” said Pastor Bishop.
Many victims see this disaster as a rebirth of their community.
“If you’re familiar with the book of Job. He took everything away, but if you believe hard enough, He gives it back again. So one day it will come back,” said Rodney Fagan, a resident of McNairy County.
The Memphis National Weather Service says they found “damage tracks” from 32 tornadoes between April 2 and April 5. They say the Selmer tornado was one of the strongest.