MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Nine people have been reported dead in McNairy County after the severe storms on Friday night.
A possible tornado and heavy winds rolled through, leaving a trail of destruction, uprooted trees, snapped power lines, and destroyed homes.
Storm victims like Gay Pinckney are left to pick up the pieces and start over.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, anywhere any place,” Pinckney. “You think you’re going to get to see and look at what you have worked so hard and paid for and for some unknown reason, it gets taken away.”
Not only was property taken away but also lives. Pinckney says her mother-in-law was one of the victims discovered dead in a field.
“He kept saying I can’t find her, I can’t find her, but he kept looking,” Pinckney said. “He was still calling, and he found her. Unfortunately, God decided he needed her more than we did so he took her.”
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee came to visit the storm victims and witness the damage in McNairy County Saturday.
“It’s heartbreaking to see what’s happened here, for sure,” Governor Lee said. “It’s been a heartbreaking week for our state and today has a particular heartache to the people in this part of the state but all across the state.”
Support is being made available within the community and surrounding area in the Mid-South.
“It’s gonna take time, it’s gonna take a community effort, it’s gonna take some hard work but we will bounce back,” Mayor David Leckner of Adamsville, Tennessee said.
Damage assessments are still underway, Tennessee does expect federal resources to possibly be available sometime soon. If you would like to help, donations can be dropped off at Adamsville city hall.
