SUNBRIGHT, Tenn. — After a possible EF-1 tornado swept through the small Sunbright community in Morgan County, the community is coming together to recover.
Several buildings in the town were damaged, including the home of 14-year-old Kiley Daniels. She said her house's windows were broken and the roof began to leak during the storm. Her father stepped up to help a nearby family who was also impacted.
"Our neighbors were trying to find somewhere to go. He was packing them up to our basement, and then it comes down," said Kiley. "It was really windy. He had ahold of them, and they were holding each other. He's dragging them in there."
The National Weather Service preliminary ranked the tornado as an EF-1 on Wednesday and said it reached maximum wind speeds of 105 mph. The NWS also said it traveled for almost 3 miles and was around 100 yards wide.
Sunbright Mayor Karen Helton said she spent some of Wednesday looking at damage in the area. She said she was thankful nobody was seriously hurt. She was also joined by Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R - TN).
The Congressman said he plans to meet with Governor Bill Lee and other elected leaders to discuss how the state can help the community. He also said crews with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency would be in the area Friday to assess the damage.
"At a time like this, it's very important to assess the damage early to see what help can be brought. And just to bring the love and kindness to the people of this community, because it's devastating," he said.