Once again, the recent severe weather phenomena in Middle Tennessee remind all that in terms of severe natural disasters, this region is not severe. With very heavy downpours and thunderstorms overnight, winds that included tornadoes were confirmed on four occasions, instilling fear and panic in local people.
The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed tornadic activity from 10:00- 2:00 hours local time based on continued strong winds and persistent heavy rains. Tornadoes, whose warnings had already been issued, mainly affected their areas of impact. Signal intensity of tornado activity was way up, making most damage areas included roofs being blown off from houses, downed trees, and snapped power lines.
Safety notifications issued to the public were made in several places, and people could catch sight of most rushing out to their safe places. Many vehicles were damaged as tornadoes cut across their roads, affecting relief and rescue efforts. Thus, emergency services were activated by the local administration for immediate provision of urgent help to affected people.
Meteorologists state, such tornadoes are usually incited by special conditions in the atmosphere, setting of hot and cold air pockets in collision with each other. That storm which lasted overnight in Middle Tennessee triggered a lot of temperature changes that subsequently led to this unfortunate devastation.
Tom Johnson, a local resident, stated "There was suddenly a loud sound at night, and then everyone started running to their bathrooms and to places they felt were safe. For everybody, that was quite a terrifying experience." He states that the roof of a neighbor's house was blown off completely but his family remained safe.
Eventually, the local schools and businesses also decided to close early due to safety. In many schools, teaching and learning have to be stopped as part of safety measures. The administration asked all residents to be alert for a few days as the weather could change.
Besides all this, the electricity department informed that due to power disruption in several areas, technical teams were mobilized to restore power service. Immediate action by all the concerned agencies is being initiated for these emergencies.
Local health care providers are keeping an eye on the situation and gearing up to provide necessary medical assistance. Helpline numbers have been issued to help the people affected by this incident.
This has brought back memories of how alert and cautious we need to be towards natural events. This also reminds us of solidarity and cooperation of the society for the affected families, together we face this tight corner. Continuous monitoring on weather conditions is up for the next few days; better yet, guidelines by the authorities concerned should be followed.