15 year anniversary of deadly Dyer, Gibson County tornadoes

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Friday marks 15 years since a severe weather outbreak devastated parts of West Tennessee.

Widespread tornadoes hit the area, killing 16 people in Dyer County and eight more in Gibson County.

The National Weather Service reported an EF-3 and EF-1 tornado in those counties. Gibson County Emergency Management Agency Director Rickey Graves remembers the devastation.

“It was the most horrible event in my career beyond a shadow of a doubt. Most horrible experience I’ve ever been through in the 40 years of doing rescue and emergency management,” Graves said.

The storms destroyed entire neighborhoods in Rutherford and Bradford, and Graves says one of the lines took out several houses at once.

“One of the storms was at least half a mile wide and probably closer to a mile,” Graves said.

A neighborhood in Rutherford has since been rebuilt, but was destroyed in the tornadoes that left several dead in Bradford.

Graves says in spite of the tragedy, he has never seen the community as united.

“It was the most amazing time of people coming together and doing what was right that I have ever seen. The farmers would form little groups. They would call into us and find where they needed to go,” Graves recounted.

Another line of storms hit Dyer County near Newbern, leaving 16 dead and destroyed homes and buildings.

Even though it has been 15 years, Graves says it’s something he will never forget.

The City of Dyersburg posted a memorial on their Facebook page to honor the residents killed in the storms.