MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (ABP) — Mother Nature cast a pall over Easter weekend in Mena, Ark., and Murfreesboro, Tenn., two towns wracked by violent thunderstorms.
On April 13 the National Weather Service upgraded Murfreesboro's Good Friday tornado that killed two and injured dozens to category EF-4 with sustained winds near 170 mph. City officials said a total of 519 structures were affected. Of those 59 were totally destroyed, 182 had major damage, 109 had minor damage and 169 others were affected to some degree.
One was home to 30-year-old Kori Bryant, who was killed with her 9-week-old infant daughter, Olivia. Her husband, John Bryant, was hospitalized in critical condition with a broken back but was upgraded to fair condition on April 13.
Kristina Brown, minister of community ministries and communications at First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, was attending a community Good Friday luncheon service at St. Paul's Episcopal Church when the storm hit. After tornado warnings were issued, the service was stopped and worshippers moved to shelter and prayed.
"We were all praying, but we had no idea how bad things were outside the doors of the church," Brown said.
First spotted at about 12:35 p.m., the tornado cut a 23-mile swath of destruction, much of it through residential areas.
"It had disaster written all over it," Brown said. "It could have been so much worse."
Brown said the storm left one family in the church homeless, and significantly damaged homes of three other member families. She said First Baptist Church was accepting designated gifts for tornado relief like helping people pay insurance deductibles or to buy building materials."
She said she had also contacted neighboring churches to see if First Baptist could help anyone there and notified emergency officials the church had already scheduled an annual Operation Inasmuch community ministry event for Saturday, April 25, and volunteered those services.
Hundreds of volunteers dedicated their Easter weekends to helping with cleanup and handing out water to emergency workers. Volunteer relief efforts were on hold April 13, pending a damage review by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker toured debris sites and met with victims that afternoon.
Mike Young, missions coordinator for Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, said April 13 that CBF typically waits 72 hours after a disaster to begin assessment and response.
"We're really not equipped to be first responders," Young said.
In all ambulances transported 42 patients to the Middle Tennessee Medical Center emergency room with tornado-related injuries immediately following the storm and another five in the overnight hours. Seven of those had critical injuries.
On Thursday, April 9, an EF-3 tornado struck Mena, Ark., a town of 5,700 near the Oklahoma state line, killing three and injuring at least 30. Mena's First Baptist Church sustained damage estimated at $1 million, forcing the Easter service out of the sanctuary for the first time ever.
"Yesterday's services were very emotional," church member Sherry Baker told the Arkansas Baptist News through tears. "So many lost their homes but their faith is strong. It was so moving to see the faith of those who lost their homes.… So many people have come to help our city."
-30-
Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press. Stella Prather contributed to this story.