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Red Cross Delivers Relief to Tornado Alley
Amy Hall, Special to RedCross.org
Wednesday, April 05, 2006 — DYERSBURG, Tenn. – Under a cloudless sky, some residents of rural Dyer County, Tenn., spent the day outdoors, sifting through rubble where homes once stood.
American Red Cross volunteer Terry Donald of Memphis, Tenn., greets Joyce Fowler in front of her home in Dyersburg, Tenn., which is strewn with debris from the passing tornadoes. Donald is delivering aid to tornado survivors; on this day, Apr. 4, 2006, that aid is in the form of meals and beverages to those who cannot provide these necessities for themselves due to storm damage and ongoing power outages. (Photo Credit: Dave Murray/American Red Cross)
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Crews worked to repair utilities and clear back roads of downed power lines, as a Red Cross emergency response vehicle wound its way through the hardest-hit areas, delivering meals, snacks, soft drinks and lemonade along the way.
“This is great because I can’t cook right now,” Joyce Fowler, 73, of the Millsfield community said over the hum of a generator. “I really, really appreciate it.”
Mrs. Fowler sat inside the small pink living room of her white wood-frame house on Harness Road and recalled how she and her husband Troy had survived Sunday night’s tornado, which claimed 24 lives, 16 in Dyer County.
“We had not been home from church but 20 or 30 minutes, when we heard a roaring noise,” Mrs. Fowler said. “I said, ‘That sounds like a train—I don’t like that sound.’”
The Fowlers grabbed a quilt and huddled together under the kitchen table.
“By that time, I heard glass shattering,” she said. “It seemed like that tornado just sat down on our house.”
Harness Road overlooks rolling hills, where tall pines now lay strewn, twisted and bowing at the root. Some homes, such as the Fowler’s, suffered only minor damage and utility outages, while others were swept clear from their foundations.
“It’s so strange how tornadoes work,” she said.
With the distant hum of a generator running outside the small home — its roof draped with a blue, plastic tarp — Joyce Fowler sits in her living with Red Cross volunteer Terry Donald recounting her family's story of survival, Apr. 4, 2006.
(Photo Credit: Dave Murray/American Red Cross)
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Insulation and clothing, toys and Christmas wreaths hung on barbed wire fences, belying the houses that stood there just 48 hours earlier. In many cases, little more than splintered plywood and twisted metal remain.
“I just prayed a little prayer that the Lord would take care of us, and he did,” Mrs. Fowler said. “I thought that our time had come.”
Local authorities estimate that it could be several days before power is restored to much of the area. The Red Cross currently has nine mobile feeding units in northwest Tennessee and will continue delivering hot meals, snacks, drinks and cleaning kits in the days to come.
“Right now, people are regaining their bearings and coming to terms with their losses,” said Dyer County Red Cross Chapter Manager Deborrah Pugh. “A hot meal and encouraging word goes a long way.”
Red Cross shelters remain open, and damage assessment teams are on the ground. The organization has begun casework in some communities, and will have family service workers in all affected areas in the days to come, providing financial assistance and connecting clients with emotional and mental health resources.
“We’re here for our neighbors however they need us,” Pugh said. “That’s who we are—neighbors helping neighbors.”
Amy Hall is the Director of Communications with the Nashville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross chapter who has been deployed to support tornado and storm relief operations in affected areas.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Photographs added to posted story on Apr. 6, 2006.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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