CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — East Brainerd was one of the hardest-hit areas in Chattanooga. Neighbors in the area are comparing it to a war zone.
Now, they need to find somewhere to stay amid the coronavirus outbreak — it's not an easy task.
"It's a double hit," said Tennessee Congressman Chuck Fleischmann. "It couldn't have come at a worse time."
An EF-3 tornado on top of a global emergency is unthinkable, but now hundreds in Chattanooga are having to handle both, and start over.
"We've seen businesses just devastated, senior living centers totally destroyed, subdivisions totally destroyed," said Fleischmann.
Governor Bill Lee visited the area Tuesday, saying the devastation was tragic. He said TEMA and FEMA are working to do damage assessments, and he will be asking the White House to issue a Major Disaster Declaration to allow federal aide to flow to those who were hit the hardest.
Neighborhoods are unrecognizable and homes are crumbled with only walls left standing.
"We got everyone into the den, five minutes later heard the train noise and it started coming through," said one man in the Holly Hills subdivision. "Being downstairs I could hear the roof coming off upstairs and the noise and the whistling. But once it was over and walking up the steps it was unbelievable."
Many are unsure how they'll remain safe protecting themselves and others from COVID-19. Because of that Fleishmann said first responders are at extreme risk. "They're going in and helping injured people, getting people out of the rubble, unprotected. We need masks, we need protective gear."
The future is uncertain for so many. The sense of community as a result of people coming together is giving Chattanooga neighborhoods hope, even when everything seems lost.
"I'm gonna stay there tonight but after that I don't know," said one man who lost his entire home.
There's an incredible amount of clean up left. People are now just starting to begin thinking of how they will start that process.
"Our community is coming together and we're all working to help each other," said Fleischmann.