A two-story home sits in its own basement in Apison, Tenn., in this 2011, file photo. Recovery efforts from the series of tornadoes that hit the tri-state region are still under way.
NASHVILLE – Marvin Quinn and Willie, his wife of 57 years, were reading Bible verses last April when a tornado neared their home in Apison just east of Chattanooga.
“I said, ‘Let’s get down and pray; the tornado’s coming,” Willie Quinn said. “And he got down on his knees, and I was bent over and put my hand over his head while we were praying.”
Thirty-seven people across the state were killed in tornadoes April 27-28. The storm system, packing three waves of heavy rains and tornadoes with winds of more than 100 mph, ripped a swath of destruction from the Chattanooga area northeast to Greene County.
The National Weather Service said more than 40 tornadoes lashed the state. In hard-hit Bradley County, the 911 center fielded 3,008 emergency phone calls in the 24 hours following the severe weather.
The devastating system was voted the No. 1 news story of the year in Tennessee by The Associated Press staff.