Storms cause major damage across Gibson County

March 1, 2017

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Gibson County took a beating Wednesday morning during those fierce thunderstorms.

Between rain and forceful winds, numerous tress were down and thousands were without power.

“I guess praise the Lord for insurance, because we’re definitely going to have to rebuild now,” Cloud Machine Tool & Fabrication owner Bruce Cloud said.

The sound of crews working to move fallen trees could be heard all morning across Gibson County after Wednesday morning thunderstorms and winds caused damage across the county.

“Trees down all over the county, electricity’s out,” Gibson County Fire Chief Bryan Cathey said. “Thank goodness there’s been no injuries reported to us due to the storm.”

In Trenton, traffic was backed up because of downed power lines. Parts of the roof on the Cloud Machine building were blown away. The owner said he was shocked to see so much damage.

“My motion detector had been activated,” Cloud said. “I thought, well, I bet a few pieces of tin blew off the roof, maybe some debris blowing around. Then I pulled up — I was just totally blown away.”

The winds also blew the roof off a trailer home and scrap metal could be seen hanging from utility lines.

But the most damage could be seen at a home on Old Dyersburg Road. Although no one was hurt, trees smashed into the house and the family’s car.

The same thing happened on Reed Road in Dyer. Brent Croom says his wife and three kids took shelter in the bathroom when a tree uprooted and collapsed on the roof.

“It was pretty nerve wracking,” Croom said. “Whole house was shaking, stuff flying off the walls, saying a few prayers, extra prayers, hoping to make it through it.”

Even though the Gibson Electric Company says there was as many as 8,000 residents without power after the storm, most are just thankful nobody was hurt.

“It’s just part of life,” Croom said. “You just deal with it and go on and count your blessings. It’s not a big deal.”