SELMER, Tenn. — On the night of March 31st, 2023, hundreds of people in McNairy county would have their lives changed forever.
Two tornadoes, taking the same path, causing damage or destroying more than 100 homes and claiming the lives of nine people.
Patricia Davidson and her husband were enjoying an evening in their home when the storms began.
“I have no idea why I was saved that day. But, the Lord has a plan. That’s all I know”, says Davidson.
The couple tried their best to take cover in the bathroom. But, the winds got the best of them.
Mrs. Davidson says, “The 142 mph winds put me to my knee, picked me up and sat me back down. I get emotional still talking about it.”
Emotions are still very raw for Mrs. Davidson.
She is dealing with the lost of a home and the loss of one of her longtime neighbors that died in the tornado that night.
“When I go by her house, it hits all over again. All you see is the brick around the front porch because everything else is gone. But, then you stop and you think that God saved me for a reason. So, you just pick up the pieces and keep going”, says Davidson.
McNairy County Mayor, Larry Smith, also faced high emotions that night.
He was on the ground with search and rescue after the first tornado touched down and had to rush out of danger to save himself.
According to the Tennessean, McNairy County had millions of dollars worth of damage that night.
Mayor Smith has applied and received several grants for those that need assistance.
"We've got about 100 homes destroyed. Now some of them have built back some of them had insurance and some of them did not and some of them didn't have enough coverage you know that did have insurance. So in my opinion, That's why we put the long term recovery group in place, because of the impact that McNairy county experienced and because we know this is not going to be a one year, two year and probably not a three-year you know cycle to get everything back up and like it needs to be."
The Davidsons house was one of the 100 that was destroyed. Their insurance was not enough to cover the damages.
Mrs. Davidson says, “It took us 6 years to build it and it took 10 seconds to go away.”
It took more than 6 months, but the Davidsons received help from a non-profit Christian organization.
They are building their home with no labor costs.
“They started our house on January 30th and I am supposed to move in by or before April 15th
Patricia Davidson is overwhelmed with all of the assistance that she has received. “The northern thing is more what can I get from you and I knew the generosity of people down here. But, I never expected it to be what it’s been.”
"We got a long way to go. But, we're not going to give up until we get there", says Mayor Smith.