Adamsville deals with major storm damage

ADAMSVILLE, Tenn. — A local town suffered major damage after storms ravaged the area.

“I’ve been here for about 27 years, and out of 27 years, this is one of the worst storms I’ve encountered,” said Adamsville resident Richard Strickland.

Adamsville was recently left a war zone after storms with straight-line winds passed through the area.

“I was coming across the highway when the roof from that building came off and flew across the parking lot. I knew I had to get over here to my son to make sure he was going to be okay,” Strickland said. “It sounded like a train and just total annihilation of something. It was a noise that I had never heard before.”

Authorities directed traffic while the lights were out.

Shattered glass and debris from local businesses lined the street and sidewalk of downtown Adamsville.

A woman and her daughter were trapped in the bathroom at one of the shops while the building took a beating from the winds.

Business owners surveyed the damage and called their insurance companies.

“It’s pretty heartbreaking. This town has been taking a beating the last five or six years. I’m looking at businesses that are pretty much destroyed. Just here, maybe a million, million and a half; it’s a lot. It’s a lot of damage,” said State Farm Agent Shawn Sisk. “It’s just everywhere; it’s widespread. There’s no way to get away from it.”

One person died as a result of the storms.

“We’ve had several high winds hit the county. We’ve got several trees down across the county, we’ve got several homes damaged, and we’ve had one fatality,” said McNairy County EMA Director Allen Strickland.

Downtown Adamsville also had to evacuate for a period of time due to a gas leak.

Community members say they just want to put their town back together and keep moving forward.

“This town is resilient, and we’ll get through it. We will. We’ll put it back together,” Sisk said.

EMA Director Allen Strickland says that the east side of the county seems to have the most damage.