March 3. It's hard to believe it has been exactly one year since tornadoes swept through middle Tennessee in the dead of night, leaving devastation and heartbreak in their wake. Communities still grieving significant losses have planned memorial services for those who tragically lost their lives, News Channel 5 reports, while schools and businesses destroyed in the storm continue to rebuild.
In the span of a few hours, according to FOX 17, a total of 10 tornadoes tore through Tennessee, leaving 25 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed. Though this past year has brought innumerable hardships to our community, it also brought about hope. People from across the state, and even from around the country, came together to help pick up the pieces of a would-be broken city to show that Nashville still stands together.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city still has a while to go before it has fully recovered.
"We have not been completely rebuilt back," he told FOX 17. "There were 500 businesses deeply distressed. There were 1,500 property owners. They are not all back yet. That's what we didn't get done. Businesses have changed. People have closed." He said he wants people to continue contacting his office to learn more about grants and assistance to help them get started on their rebound.
Aside from downtown, areas from Germantown and East Nashville to Mt. Juliet and even all the way to Putnam County still bare scars from that night, showcasing the slow but steady recovery. Sam Chaple, general manager of Manheim Nashville in Mt. Juliet, told WKRN his business is finally making a comeback after the "heartbreaking" destruction the community experienced a year ago.
"I'm proud to report, that as we near the one-year anniversary of the tornado," he said, "Manheim Nashville has made a successful comeback due to the enormous outpouring of support by our team members, clients, and the local Nashville community."
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