Wednesday’s storms leaves area of Jackson damaged
JACKSON, Tenn. — Wednesday’s storms caused heavy damage to many West Tennessee communities, including Jackson.
“My neighbor called and sent us a picture and said, ‘You have a tree.’ I didn’t see it very well. I just thought to myself, ‘Okay. It must be a big branch or something. Not a big deal.’ We didn’t think the storm was too bad. We were watching the weather, and we saw it was a little windy. Didn’t seem too bad. We got some more pictures, and I saw my wife’s face and voice change, and I knew we were dealing with something serious,” said Ben Burleson.
Homes in the midtown and east Jackson area were heavily affected. Many had debris, torn apart fences, and tree branches in their yard or on or their homes.
“We got a big Magnolia in the front that split in three different directions, and one big third of it just fell straight onto the roof. And also a very large Oak tree in the backyard just went and fell straight into the backyard, and it took down our carport. My car was underneath there,” Burleson said.
Fortunately, the family wasn’t home during the storm. Along with homes, some businesses felt the effects of strong winds as well.
“Our roof was literally all over the parking lot,” said Ginger Bankston, co-owner of KB’s Auto Service Center.
The service center’s roof flew off of their building, causing water to seep through the ceiling, damaging floors, the roof, and some of the vehicles that were being worked on.
“A couple of the cars out in the front parking lot. We think probably debris from the roof and damage from that, and some of our roof is across the street,” Bankston said.
Along with the roof, water continues to flood throughout the businesses, prolonging the cleaning process.
“Half the roof is hanging off of the side of the building, and it’s lots of water. It was raining down inside here. You know, we just had a lot of water damage. Just standing in water,” Bankston said.
Although many people didn’t expect this storm to be as bad as it was, most if not all are just glad to be alive and safe.
KB’s Auto Service Center and the Burleson family would like to thank those who’ve helped clean up the damage.
You can read about damage done to the arboretum certified University of Memphis Lambuth campus here.
See photos sent by viewers from around the area here.
Find more local news here.
