Powerful storm impacts Slayden
All hands were on deck Thursday, April 3 to respond to the area of South Slayden Road and Highway 72 after a 1 a.m. Twister took down trees and power lines and stripped roofs off houses, according to sheriff Kenny Dickerson.
He spoke after daylight from the sheriff's command center set up initially at the Slayden Travel Center on Highway 72.
The command center was quickly moved to Slayden Baptist Church which emergency response workers used as home base.
Dickerson said an area about 11 miles long and two miles wide was affected as the tornadic winds ripped off roofs, took houses down to the slabs and snapped or uprooted trees. Ninety six structures, mostly residences were heavily damaged or totally destroyed, he said.
Holly Springs Utility Department lines were down for miles as utility poles were snapped. A TVA high voltage line was also downed in the Kennedy Road area.
Jones Greenshouse was wrecked with plastic stripped off the 12 houses and aluminum support structures crushed and twisted.
Roads where the tornado crossed included Highway 311, Isom Chapel Road, Hurdle Club Road, Hogan Road, South Slayden Road.
South Slayden Road was closed from both ends as a safety precaution while responders cleared the roads of trees and checked on residents.
County road department and building and grounds crews helped clear the roads so traffic and emergency workers could get in and out of the area. The sheriff department's whites and greens helped clear the roads so emergency crews could get in and out.
“I just don't see how we could have no one killed or injured,” Dickerson said. “Miles of power lines were down and a number of utility poles either snapped or toppled. Three or four houses were destroyed down to the foundation on Hurdle Club Road.”
Even as rain commenced again just after noon Thursday, homeowners were out covering their roofs to prevent water damage, and crews with chain saws and trackhoes were removing large trees from around houses.
Heavy equipment crews arrived from outside the area to help clear the areas.
One county employee remarked, “They say it don't strike twice in the same place, but it did here.” He was referring to destruction on Kennedy Road.
Slayden Baptist Church, a true servant, offered its facilities and its members assembled a soup and sandwich kitchen staffed by 25 volunteers to serve first responders and county workers on site. More was distributed off site.
“That's what Slayden Does,” said Jeanine Steele. “There's a slew of people out there with chain saws and bobcats – about 200 people from all over who we don't even know. Tons of food is being brought in sent by people we don't even know.”
District 4 supervisor George Zinn III, District 2 supervisor Johnny Walker and District 3 supervisor Terry Rodgers were among those at the command center cheering workers on.
“I'm totally impressed with the response of neighboring counties and towns, with no real request. They just heard about it and showed up,” Zinn said. “Lots of people were blocked in and couldn't get out. They cleared areas so emergency crews and the elderly would get in and out.”
Dickerson said early on crews cleared trees out of the road on Highway 311 and on Drew Road north of the Coldwater.
One elderly man lived on the end of the road and his safety was assured.
He said all sheriff department personnel, from investigators, to narcotics, to patrolling officers were in the area armed with maps and grids. Officers were assigned to assess certain areas on the grid, he said.
HSUD general manager Wayne Jones said Friday 1,900 customers were without power. Power was restored to 1,000 customers Thursday, April 3 and 900 remain to be restored Friday, April 4.
Emergency responders included the Mt. Pleasant, Byhalia, Victoria, Barton, Cayce Road, and Holly Springs fire departments.
Others included LifeGuard EMS, Vital EMS, the American Red Cross and Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief.