Volunteers rally to help in the aftermath of deadly tornadoes in Tennessee
Destructive tornadoes have left multiple Tennessee communities reeling, and Convoy of Hope is just one of the organizations on the ground helping those affected in the immediate aftermath.
Transcript
00:00 Middle Tennessee is recovering from several tornadoes.
00:03 Two of these were especially powerful and deadly.
00:06 They damaged several communities
00:08 in their path this weekend.
00:10 Three people were killed and more than 60 were injured
00:12 in Clarksville, Tennessee.
00:14 And that is where Paul Logan is.
00:16 He is the U.S. Disaster Response Manager
00:19 for the nonprofit relief organization, Convoy of Hope.
00:22 Thank you so much for joining us here, Paul.
00:24 Yeah, thank you for having me on.
00:27 Well, Paul, it was a real challenging weekend
00:29 with six killed overall across Tennessee,
00:32 but three specifically in the community where you are.
00:34 So when did Convoy of Hope arrive
00:36 and to what extent is the damage
00:38 that you're seeing on the ground?
00:40 So we are here about 12 hours,
00:42 less than 12 hours after the storm touched down.
00:45 Since then, we've been able to bring in two semi-loads
00:50 of product here to Clarksville,
00:51 as well as several other loads in the Middle Tennessee area.
00:55 And we've been distributing supplies
00:57 alongside some of our partners.
00:59 And as you can see, there's a lot of activity behind me
01:02 with some of our partners and volunteers.
01:04 And yeah, so we've been plenty busy with lots of volunteers
01:07 serving the community here in Clarksville.
01:09 So what is the situation now and who is in need
01:13 and what kind of types of help are most urgent right now?
01:16 Yeah, so obviously the community has experienced
01:21 a lot of significant damage.
01:22 We're hearing reports of homes completely destroyed,
01:25 people coming in and saying they've lost everything.
01:28 So we're working with some local partners
01:31 to provide the basic supplies that they need.
01:34 Things like totes, garbage cans, trash bags,
01:38 rakes, water, Gatorade, just basic things
01:42 to help people start their journey to recovery.
01:45 Those are very practical things
01:47 that may not necessarily come to mind,
01:49 but when you've been in it,
01:51 you certainly know what kinds of things are needed.
01:53 So you're in Clarksville, Tennessee.
01:55 What did your teams find in other Tennessee locations?
01:58 Yeah, similar situations of people just reeling,
02:04 this is never something that people anticipate or imagine.
02:07 And so all of a sudden their lives are thrown upside down
02:11 and they're in a situation beyond their ability
02:14 to deal with and that's why it's so important
02:15 that local volunteers and organizations such as ourself
02:19 are able to come alongside and lend a hand.
02:22 So we're in that two to three day window
02:23 after the initial disaster of tornado touchdown.
02:27 So what's the next phase of assistance
02:29 as we move deeper into this week or maybe even next week?
02:32 Yeah, so currently a lot of volunteers
02:36 have been able to get out into the areas.
02:38 They're really helping people do the initial cleanup.
02:42 I think as time goes on, we're gonna see more,
02:45 you know, tarping of roofs
02:48 and figuring out what can be salvaged.
02:51 And people trying to figure out what's next.
02:54 Obviously it's a long process
02:57 and I know the first week is only just the start.
03:00 It's a long process for people who've been deeply impacted.
03:04 Thank you so much, Paul Logan,
03:05 a US Disaster Response Manager for Convoy of Hope.
03:09 You do some good things.
03:10 Thank you, Paul.
03:11 Thank you so much.
03:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]