In the wake of two destructive tornadoes that swept through Middle Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky on Saturday, recovery efforts are underway in Clarksville and Todd County.
According to the National Weather Service, one of the tornadoes traveled about 42 miles through Clarksville and into Todd County and Logan County in Kentucky. The other tornado affected the Madison and Hendersonville areas north of Nashville.
Six people were killed in Tennessee, including three in Clarksville, and dozens were taken to hospitals.
Clarksville
The city of Clarksville has posted an online resource guide for people affected by the storms and for those wanting to help with recovery efforts.
Around noon Monday, Clarksville officials reported that 971 residential sites, 42 commercial sites and two public facilities were hit by the tornado. Officials said 114 residences were destroyed and 290 sustained major damage.
Clarksville officials said there was heavy traffic in some areas where recovery efforts are underway. Police asked “that citizens who are not directly involved in search, rescue, or recovery efforts avoid the impacted areas.”
The city has partnered with two area churches — Mosaic Church, 1020 Garrettsburg Road, and LifePoint Church, 1915 Rossview Road — to facilitate volunteer and distribution efforts, which are expected to continue through Thursday. Residents can request assistance at either church website.
Individuals interested in volunteering are asked to sign up online. (You can access the LifePoint volunteer form here and the Mosaic signup here.) School buses transporting volunteers to cleanup areas will run on a two-hour rotation, officials said. Those needing additional information about volunteering should call 931-245-2988.
YAIPak Outreach is collecting donated necessities. A full list of needed items and updates can be found here.
“Volunteers are asked to come dressed appropriately for working in potentially hazardous areas where there is extensive damage and debris. Work gloves and appropriate protective footwear are required,” officials said in a Facebook post.
Todd County
In Todd County, the NWS reported that, “Hundreds of trees snapped or uprooted. At least a dozen outbuildings destroyed, including barns, sheds and garages. Many homes suffered minor damages to roofs, siding, and gutters. Several homes had parts of roofs removed. Several broken power poles.”
Members of Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief began arriving in Todd County on Sunday to volunteer for cleanup and repairs in Allensville, said Carrie Joy Brookshire, a Trenton resident and member of the group.
About 40 volunteers will work in Allensville until Wednesday to clear downed trees and other debris. Brookshire is part of a four-member team cooking meals for the volunteers. They are using a kitchen at Dripping Springs Baptist Church, and most of the volunteers are also sleeping at the Logan County church, said Brookshire.
“There is damage to homes, but it is mainly the trees,” said Brookshire. In some areas, trees look like snapped match sticks, she said.
Most of the relief team volunteers working in Allensville came from other Western Kentucky towns.
Brookshire said she was “humbled” to see them respond to her home county. “We are just a small dot on the map,” she said.
Allensville is an unincorporated town about 9 miles southeast of Trenton. The population is roughly 160.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
