SELMER, Tenn. — One person is dead in McNairy County, Tennessee and the death toll may rise following severe storms and multiple tornadoes that tore through Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Extensive damage can be seen in the town of Selmer, where there were multiple trees blocking roadways into the city and many buildings are severely damaged.

The tornado that struck Selmer, Tennessee was a category EF-3 with a peak wind speed of 160 mph, NWS said.

A woman in Selmer told WREG that she was inside her trailer when it flipped more than five times during the storm. She did not receive any serious injuries during the incident.

One building, which appears to have been a laundromat, was substantially damaged during the storm.

The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed one reported fatality in the county.

One man in Selmer said he’d just bought his house and was getting ready to make a payment when it was reduced to rubble by the storm. He says it was all taken away from him in less than three minutes, but he is just thankful to be alive.

“I just purchased this home. I was proud to purchase this home but I ain’t think this was going to happen to this home,” said Paul Floyd.

With the help of neighbors, he and his family spent the morning trying to gather what they could from their home. They even found their dog, shaking with fear, hidden underneath the rubble.

Floyd says even though they are smiling now, they are still rattled from the events overnight.

“It sounded like a train. Three minutes is all it took,” he said.

Floyd told us he and his family were inside when a tornado passed over their heads. He says they immediately took shelter in the middle of their home.

“We got down in the hallway and thank God, you know, the hallway stayed up when everything came down on top of us. But we were just in the hallway and we just made it through that,” Floyd said. “No injuries. Thank God. No anything.”

Floyd says they were trapped for more than 15 minutes when relatives finally came to help dig them out.

“I heard my neighbor screaming down there. He was screaming when we left. He was screaming for help but we couldn’t get to him. I hope he alright,” said Floyd.

Several businesses and apartment complexes were also destroyed.

“I’m just grateful we’re ok. I said God was watching us,” said another Selmer resident, Jessica Cowgill.

Jessica Cowgill says a tornado flipped her mobile home with her family.

“We went into the bathroom and before we knew it we were just sitting there and it sounded like a huge truck was coming through. and then we were just spinning,” said Cowgill. “We were spinning for like five times and we were trapped in the bathroom.”

Cowgill said she didn’t know who saved them, but she was proud that he saved her family.

She says she was only trapped inside for a few seconds before that man came to their rescue and helped pull them from the rubble. 

Cowgill also said that her family was able to walk away with little to no injuries and that she had a bruise after the sink fell on her leg.

“Yes, if he wouldn’t have came through because our road there were lines down everywhere, I don’t think if he wouldn’t have come through we would’ve got out,” said Cowgill.

Various law enforcement agencies and first responders convened in the devastated city to conduct numerous search and rescue operations. 

The Tennessee Highway Patrol shared a video of state troopers, McNairy County deputies, Selmer Police, and firefighters searching through the wreckage of a home near Selmer that took a direct hit, searching for anyone who might be trapped or hurt.

The community is now in recovery mode trying to recover and salvage whatever they can from their homes. Clean-up may take days if not weeks. It is still unclear how many people were injured in Selmer.

Neighbors lend a helping hand to those trying to salvage what they can from their homes. 

Authorities say that if you are in the area, avoid New Bethel Road which was blocked by downed trees early Thursday morning.

The Director of Schools in Selmer, Greg Martin, says that the schools in the city did not receive substantial damage as a result of the storms.

Another death was confirmed in Obion County. The Fayette County Emergency Management Agency says two others were confirmed dead in Fayette County — a 16-year-old girl and her 48-year-old father.