Saturday, December 9, a series of tornadoes and thunderstorms left more than 50 people injured and at least six dead in a few different areas of Tennessee. These extreme storms also took electricity from more than 35,000 people.

“That is so many people, it’s really hard to think about how a natural disaster can just destroy people’s lives and families,” sophomore Madelynne Steele stated.

An F3 tornado first struck in Montgomery county, destroying everything across an 11-mile path and reaching top wind speeds of 150 miles per hour. At least three people were killed.

Later the same day, an EF2 tornado hit the town of Madison and the nearby Hendersonville, which is north of Nashville. Another three were confirmed dead with this 125 miles per hour tornado.

First responders reported to more than 400 calls overnight. Currently there are 25 people that have been displaced due to the storms that are in shelters and there is suspicion of a large increase in those numbers.

So far in the city of Clarksville 65 buildings have been partially damaged and 339 buildings have been moderately damaged. Officials have stated that 271 structures have been claimed as uninhabitable after severe damages and 91 structures have been entirely destroyed.

“I think it’s crazy that natural disasters can do that much damage to a town or city or to any area,” sophomore Riley Kirkwood stated.

Many different areas reported over 10 other sightings of tornadoes and funnel clouds around the South and the National Weather Service is surveying the areas where the reports came from to confirm them. These tornadoes sprung from a storm system that traveled across the eastern coast of the United States. The amount of tornado reports came close to a record of 41 tornadoes across a few states two years ago.

“I don’t like hearing about natural disasters because they make my skin crawl thinking about it,” sophomore Madison Schumaker stated. “It’s just so crazy to think that I could wake up one morning and then come home and my house is gone because of a tornado.”

It will take a long while for electricity and hope to come back to those who lost both during this disaster. Even though the areas affected will need serious amounts of reconstruction to get back to the way they were, it is important to not give up on reforming the towns back to their original state.