Deadly Rutherford County Tornado That Inspired National Storm Shelters
April 10th Marks Anniversary Of Deadly "Good Friday" Tornado
by Aundrea Cline-Thomas - Nashville News Channel 5
RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. - Since opening National Storm Shelters in 2009, Jeff Turner has seen his business increase 300 percent over the last three years.
"The reason we do this is to help people survive storms," owner Jeff Turner said.
The idea came after the "Good Friday" tornado devastated Rutherford County on April 10, 2009. A mother and her nine-week-old child were killed and dozens of people were sent to the hospital.
"It really hit me emotionally," he said. "I felt helpless. I was paralyzed. I try to fix things. I like to help people do things. I couldn't...it was out of my control."
"We had 875 structures that were impacted by the storm and 117 homes that were completely destroyed," Tim Hooker, Interim Director of Rutherford Emergency Management said.
Those who lived through the storm remember it as if it were yesterday.
"(It's) hard to forget," Hooker said. "It was a huge event."
It's an event that changed how residents prepare for disasters.
"We've seen a pretty large increase in people having shelters installed," Hooker added. "Also an increase in concern for families having preparedness kits for disasters."
That's good news for Turner's company. "There's really no sense in someone dying in a tornado these days," Turner said.
A storm shelter costs about $5,500. Rutherford County is one of the most tornado prone counties in Middle Tennessee. Already an EF-0 and an EF-1 tornado touched down this year, and the season has just started.
So many residents have installed storm shelters, most emergency agencies want folks to register them.
If there's a tornado and neighborhoods are flattened, first responders need to know where to look for you and your family.
http://www.nationalstormshelters.com
[email protected]
Facebook.com/NationalStormShelters
Twitter.com/NSS_Shelters
