Also see: Tornadoes Smash Middle Tennessee
"In Tenn., a 'voom,' followed by a man's screams; Survivors recall tornado that hit small college town" by Juanita Cousins, Associated Press | April 12, 2009
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The worst sound Eric Funkhouser said he has ever heard was a 10-second "voom" followed by a man's screams.
A tornado hit Funkhouser's home in Murfreesboro, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville, on Friday, part of severe storms that spawned tornadoes across the Southeast that has been blamed for three deaths and dozens of injuries.
"It sounded like seven freight trains and 22 vacuum cleaners all going at the same time," Funkhouser said yesterday as he returned to what is left of his home and neighborhood.
Funkhouser ran outside and found his neighbor John Bryant laying in Funkhouser's front yard, covered with blood and screaming. "He kept saying that his wife and baby were out there with him and he had to find them," Funkhouser said.
Twenty minutes later, Funkhouser and other survivors found Bryant's wife, Kori, dead in the gravel driveway under debris and 9-week-old Olivia Bryant was found dead buckled into her car seat, beneath a carpet and a tree.
Family friend Laura Lawrence said Bryant, a self-employed construction worker, had just gotten home on his lunch break. He, his wife, and daughter were seeking shelter when the tornado rolled through.
National Weather Service officials said a preliminary report shows the EF3 tornado tore a 15-mile path through the university town of about 100,000 with winds as high as 165 miles per hour. Hundreds of homes were destroyed or damaged and more than 40 people were injured.
John Bryant is in critical condition with a broken back, Lawrence said yesterday, as she gathered clothes and pictures from their neighbors' yards. During a tour of the damaged areas yesterday, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen walked past a pile of pink baby clothes topped with the Bryants' wedding album, paused before yellow and gray tarps marking where the mother and daughter were found and bowed his head.
"My thoughts and prayers are with them. It's very sad," Bredesen said. He then walked through the neighborhood that was hardest hit, listening to survivors share stories of how they hid in bathrooms and pantries.
"I am astonished," Bredesen said. "Where it hit is very very intense."
Bredesen said he may request a presidential declaration of emergency after Tennessee Emergency Management Agency officials completely survey the area. "I want to get all the assistance we possibly can for people," Bredesen said. "For right now, the community is doing a great job."
Church members and neighbors joined survivors in cleaning up debris, patching up roofs with blue tarps and sawing tree branches from cars and houses. Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg said water is running on generators and power and gas remain off in the areas worst hit.
Code inspectors were going door to door to determine the amount of damage done and whether the homes are destroyed. They condemned the Funkhousers' home with a sticker that read "Unsafe. Do not enter or occupy."
The Bryants' home, the only wood house on the block, was destroyed and most of the siding was in Funkhouser's yard. Churches and utility companies passed out hot dogs, hamburgers, ham sandwiches, chips and water to families and volunteers.
"This is something we have to do because you can't just look over this damage," church volunteer Lacie Young said. "We were so blessed and have to share these blessings."
Rescue teams concluded a five-hour search Friday night for survivors who may have been trapped in the rubble, but no more victims were found, said Donnie Smith, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
Reports of destruction were widespread across the region Friday, with funnel clouds spotted in Kentucky and Alabama and devastating winds, huge hail and heavy rain reported in several states. In South Carolina, a driver trying to avoid storm debris in the eastern part of the state was killed Friday, state Emergency Management Division spokesman Derrec Becker said.
If the whole region was going through this, why did the Globe minimize it?
Several possible tornadoes were reported in north Georgia as heavy rain, hail, and winds downed trees and power lines. On Thursday night, a black funnel cloud packing winds of at least 136 miles per hour descended on the western Arkansas hamlet of Mena, killing at least three, injuring 30, and destroying or damaging 600 homes.
Related: The Crimes of Mena
Hey, what's one more MSM cover-up, huh?
--more--"
Btw, anybody hear a HAARP?
Things like this certainly make it difficult for U.S. citizens to organize, doesn' it?
