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Tornadoes strike in Tennessee and Kentucky
News story originally written on March 29, 1997
Twelve tornadoes hit Tennessee early Saturday morning, injuring at least 44 people. Two people were killed when six more tornadoes touched down in Kentucky.
The tornadoes came from a broad band of severe thunderstorms running through the middle part of the country. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are typical for this time of year in the Midwest and South.
Both states sustained severe electrical, auto, and building damage. Several homes in Chattanooga, Tennessee were leveled. In addition, many trees were uprooted.
Dozens Hurt After Tornadoes Blast Tennessee
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- A dozen tornadoes raked Tennessee early Saturday, pitching parked cars 300 feet and injuring nearly four dozen people. Metal utility poles designed to withstand 160-mph winds were bent and snapped. Trees that were not broken or uprooted were covered with bits of shredded debris. No deaths were reported. "That's a real miracle when you look at the damage," said Todd Womack, spokesman for Erlanger Medical Center.
Furious thunder and hail, followed by deafening wind, sent Kelly and Trudy Smith into the basement with their 10-year-old son Shannon. Minutes later, a pine tree crashed through the roof upstairs. "I was glad I recognized the sound and we could run for cover," Kelly Smith said. "You know it's coming and you can't do nothing. You just dive down and pray to God it doesn't take you. We're just lucky to be alive."
The same broad weather system produced a half-dozen tornadoes in Kentucky late Friday, killing two people. Violent thunderstorms also caused scattered damage Friday in Indiana. All but five units of the Hickory Trace Townhomes in Chattanooga were leveled, and even those standing will have be to be pulled down, developer Coleman Hockman said after touring the site. The second floors of the townhomes were gone and most facades were ripped away. Yellow paint marked buildings where rescuers and dogs had searched for possible victims pinned underneath debris.
"It will take us a couple of days to account for everybody," said Fire Chief Jim Coppinger. "It's not the best of circumstances with the debris, people leaving on their own and it being Easter weekend and people out of town." Two of the injured were in critical condition, Womack said. At least 44 people were treated for cuts and bruises. Power was out most of the day for about 20,000 customers. Some of the worst damage was at the 180-unit Hickory Villa Apartments in Chattanooga, where about half of the units were demolished. Vehicles parked at the complex were picked up and dropped 300 feet away -- on the other side of 45-foot-tall buildings.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said 12 tornadoes touched down shortly after midnight. Property damage was reported in 10 counties. Eric Wilson said he and his wife were getting ready to go to bed when they heard hail striking their mobile home. "And then we heard the wind. My wife and I hit the floor and pulled the mattress on top of us. And then (the trailer) was just gone." In Kentucky, at least five twisters were reported in six rural counties, the National Weather Service said. The storms injured 26 people, damaged or destroyed nearly 150 homes and downed power lines, state officials said. Two people were killed.
Marsha Cook's mobile home in south-central Kentucky tumbled 600 feet away from its foundation while she and her three children hid in her mother's basement five miles away. "They had to bring in a front-end loader to carry it off the road," she said. "All that was intact was the floor. Everything else was just twisted and destroyed." Thunderstorms in Indiana late Friday ripped roofs off an apartment complex, causing heavy damage. No serious injuries were reported.
No tornadoes were confirmed in Indiana, but one woman had no doubt what she ran into. "I got out of my car ... and I went flying around from the driver's side to the passenger's side," said Judy Humphreys, 50, of Indianapolis.
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