Updated: 4/10/2006 9:38:08 AM
By MICHAEL CASS and BONNA de la CRUZ Staff Writers - The Tennessean
Storm-ravaged Middle Tennesseans from Dickson County to Cumberland County started the task of tornado recovery yesterday, with thousands of buildings needing repairs and thousands more lacking power.
Gridlock complicated matters in the hardest-hit areas of Sumner County, as looky-loos and an overwhelming volunteer response crowded streets and city officials called for help to fight looting.
Friday's tornadoes caused 12 deaths and 167 injuries and damaged as many as 3,000 buildings, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said in its latest toll.
In Sumner, nine people died, 150 were hurt and as many as 900 homes, farms and businesses were damaged or destroyed, TEMA spokesman Randy Harris said, citing preliminary estimates. Three died in Warren County.
After touring the damage by air and by car and taking photographs of the wreckage, Gov. Phil Bredesen said he hoped the affected areas could be declared federal disaster areas by this morning. They would join two West Tennessee counties hammered by storms earlier in the week.
"They responded very quickly last time," Bredesen said of the federal disaster declarations in Dyer and Gibson counties.
It was the deadliest weather system to whip Middle Tennessee since 1974, when 22 people died in Lincoln County and more than 50 were killed statewide.
State and Red Cross officials said they had been inundated by volunteers wanting to help in Sumner County.
"We always get more volunteers than we can ever use when there's a disaster in Tennessee," said Richard Ramey, TEMA emergency support coordinator. "Right now we're getting enough help."
And those who survived learned the lessons of the storm.
"It's the scariest thing I've ever been through. The sound was indescribable roaring unlike anything I have ever heard in my life," said Gallatin resident Joan Hewgley of Habershame Drive, whose house collapsed around her. "The house is a total loss, but at least I have my life. Tell everyone out there to listen to the forecasters when they tell you to take cover."
THE DAMAGE
Sumner, Warren, Davidson, Cheatham and Cumberland counties suffered the most property damage, including 700 to 900 structures damaged or destroyed in Sumner, 500 to 700 in Warren and 300 in Davidson, Harris said.
Bredesen stopped by some hard-hit Sumner subdivisions, including Plantation Trace, and met with relatives of a couple killed in a home at Woodhaven. U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Murfreesboro, who represents Sumner and Robertson counties, was there as well.
"You can read about it, but you have to see it to believe it," Gordon said. "It is tragic that lives were lost here, but I am grateful it wasn't more."
Bill Hovenden, headmaster of Sumner Academy on Nichols Lane, said the storm damaged the school's gym and took the roof off the library.
"I saw the tornado coming, and I thought to myself that it was a small tornado, but I thought I had better get inside," Hovenden said. "And just as I got into the building, it hit. It only lasted eight seconds, so I thought it couldn't have done much damage, until I went outside.''
Volunteer State Community College's main campus in Gallatin will be closed to students and faculty next week while officials assess the damage and start repairs, President Warren Nichols said. He said he hopes classes will resume the following week.
Nichols walked Bredesen and other officials through the Ramer Administration Building yesterday, where the storms brought down walls at both ends of the building. The roof on Caudill Hall, which houses the campus radio station and several classrooms, collapsed during the tornado.
The other three people killed in the storms lived in Warren County. Jim Cunningham, deputy director of Warren County emergency management, said they were a nurse who lived in a trailer on the southern edge of the county and two other people, also trailer-home residents, in the north, near the DeKalb County line.
The National Guard sent dump trucks, loaders and seven soldiers to help clear debris in Warren County, Harris said. Metro Nashville deployed two work crews to clear debris there, Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell said.
Search and rescue teams from Nashville also helped Goodlettsville police go door to door in the most heavily damaged neighborhoods, looking for survivors and, possibly, more fatalities.
Nashville also loaned police officers to Goodlettsville's small force. The city sent cranes and other heavy machinery to clear debris, including some that damaged and blocked in some of Goodlettsville's own public works equipment, Purcell said.
"There are entire neighborhoods demolished," Purcell said. "There are houses that are completely gone. There are homes that are shifted on the foundation. All we can do there is stand ready to respond."
Another 15 counties each saw anywhere from 10 to 150 structures damaged, according to preliminary estimates, Harris said.
POWER OUT
Sumner County reported the widest power outages; thousands of homes had no electricity, said Harris, the TEMA spokesman. Some Goodlettsville homes and businesses won't get power for another week as Nashville Electric Service seeks to repair whole sections of the power grid there.
Power was expected to be restored to most Sumner County customers in the Gallatin Electric Department service area by sometime last night, while those living in the Nashville Electric Service and Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation service areas could have a wait of one to five days.
The entire city of Gallatin was without power after the tornadoes Friday afternoon, but by 4:45 p.m. yesterday, officials said there were 800 customers remaining without power.
Hendersonville Mayor Scott Foster estimated as many as 4,000 Hendersonville homes remained without power yesterday afternoon. Some of the hardest-hit areas could be out of power for a week, Foster said.
Utility crews for Cumberland Electric continued to work to restore power, with the city closing Saundersville Road so workers could reinstall electric poles.
Hotels were filled up in Gallatin yesterday with people who had lost power, if not their homes.
"There's a lot of families here that don't have anywhere to go," said Jackie Swoopes, a receptionist at the Jameson Inn in Gallatin.
The night before, the hotel also was booked, despite having no electricity. Guests hung out in the lobby, where a small generator provided some light, then were guided back to their darkened rooms.
"We had candles we gave people for their rooms," Swoopes said.
As of 8 p.m. yesterday, about 1,000 NES customers in Goodlettsville still were without power. Most of them live area around Caldwell Road and Long Hollow Pike. "That's the area that we hope to have back on before the end of today," said Laurie Parker, an NES spokeswoman.
It might be a week before electricity to customers who live near North Main Street in Goodlettsville is restored because part of the power distribution system in the area was destroyed, she said.
"Considering the hit yesterday evening and that we had at one point 11,000 customers without power, the crews just worked really hard to get power back on."
About 65 power-line poles snapped in half or were grounded in the storm, Parker said. About 70 NES bucket trucks were working to clear debris and begin repairs, she said.
Power was restored to Ashland City and surrounding areas Friday night, said Edwin Hogan, director of the Cheatham County Emergency Management Agency. Hogan said approximately 30 homes in the Greenbrier and Petway communities still were without power yesterday. Crews were working to fix the problem.
SHELTERS
About 10 people stayed in Red Cross shelters set up for storm victims in Goodlettsville, Gallatin and Hendersonville, although there was room for up to 150 people at each, agency officials said.
The Red Cross had served 842 snacks and meals by 11:30 a.m., said Colleen Zakrewsky, CEO of the Nashville Area Red Cross. Counselors were available at shelters for those who needed to talk.
Seven emergency response vehicles were coming from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi to assist in recovery efforts, Zakrewsky said.
"We are thrilled so many people are calling to volunteer," she said. "We have enough to handle the crisis at this point. We do need financial support."
State and Red Cross officials said they had enough manpower but needed materials to help clean up debris. They requested items such as work gloves, heavy-duty trash bags, rakes and other yard equipment. Those items and donations may be dropped off today at a warehouse across from Gallatin High School on Hancock Street.
Merci Campbell, who managed a Red Cross shelter at the Hendersonville Church of Christ, said that while only three people went there to sleep Friday night, hundreds of volunteers came to offer food, clothing, assistance and even housing.
"To me it sounds like we have a very caring community," Campbell said.
Amy Hall, communications director for the Nashville Area Red Cross, said people interested in volunteering should visit the Web site www.nashvilleredcross.org to find updates on training opportunities. Hall said the Red Cross is trying to "fast-track" training classes, which will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
"They can help with anything from delivering meals to assessing damage to working at a shelter," Hall said.
While the Red Cross had enough volunteers yesterday, it may need more in the coming week, Hall said. To find about volunteer opportunities and items needed for the relief effort, call the Gallatin Chamber of Commerce at 615-452-4000.
TRAFFIC AND TROUBLE
The disaster didn't bring out the best in everyone, officials said. At least 50 National Guardsmen are scheduled to arrive in Sumner County today to help control looting, County Executive Hank Thompson said.
Thompson said he asked Bredesen yesterday for assistance in stopping looting that started in the damaged subdivisions after dark Friday.
The state "agreed to that," Thompson said. "So Gallatin police can secure the areas now and get some help."
Gallatin's roads also were full of curious motorists, frustrated police said. There were traffic jams on Highway 109 as well as Nashville Pike, Gallatin Police Sgt. Kate Novitsky said.
"If you don't live here in Gallatin or have business here, don't venture into the city," Novitsky said. "The gridlock is hindering the search and rescue efforts and delivery of resources."
Part of Long Hollow Pike was closed to traffic because of debris and downed traffic signals, officials said. Heavily damaged subdivisions remained blocked off.
"We're in a search operation now," said Ken Weidner, director of the Sumner Emergency Management Agency.
Gallatin public works crews cleared all debris from most of the streets in Gallatin and started working to clear the rights of way along those roads, Public Works Superintendent Ronnie Stiles said.
"Most all the roads are open," Stiles said. "It tore down so many power poles. They're working on those now, too."
Crews also planned to start picking up debris from private properties yesterday, Stiles said.
Gallatin Mayor Don Wright declared a civil emergency and imposed a curfew from dusk to dawn in certain neighborhoods and areas designated by the police chief.
Subdivisions affected by the curfew include Woodhaven, Woodlake, Plantation Trace, Academy Heights and Lake Charland. Other areas closed by police will be designated by police checkpoints. ?
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