Family loses everything in tornado: 'We have hope, and thank God we are alive'

In the days following Wednesday's storms, now reporting more than 240 homes damaged, Maury County residents continue to pick up the pieces, while taking comfort in the hope to carry on.

Of the homes damaged by the reported EF-3 tornado, about 40 were considered a total loss initially, especially in some of the most affected areas just off Bear Creek Pike. These included properties on Lasea Road, Old Highway 99 and Blackburn Lane, where one fatality was reported.

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John and Valerie Bernhart were among those on Blackburn Lane who nearly lost everything, while also enduring a night of intense fear not knowing if they were going to survive.

"We don't really know what to do, but we are alive and very grateful for that," Valerie said. "We're definitely going to be making a few Walmart runs since we lost everything."

The house currently sits in ruins, with bricks, portions of the roof and other debris in piles, as well as damaged vehicles and all of their household possessions strewn about the lawn. The only piece of the home still standing is a four-walled room where the Bernharts sought refuge as Wednesday's tornado hit.

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"We were on the ground in front of the washer and dryer, and that's the only thing left standing," John said. "It was well fortified, but the roof is gone and things were hitting us. We were just sitting there holding each other, and I'd ask her every minute or so if she was alright."

'Thank God we were able to walk away'

The Bernharts recalled exactly what it was like the moment they realized a tornado was about to strike their home, and having to take shelter immediately.

"We were in the kitchen cooking supper when we heard the first alarm on our phone, but we didn't pay any attention to it, wasn't really worried about the storm and hadn't been through a tornado before," Valerie Bernhart said. "Then I noticed it was getting dark, which seemed off, and then I heard the noise, a very loud noise."

Huddling together in a small four-walled room, they held each other and prayed, all while getting pelted and hit with debris flying through the home.

"He sheltered me and has a big bruise and knot on his neck and back, and I was totally unscathed," she said. "But I was praying constantly, because I felt like we were going to be lifted up and thrown out. It was just so powerful."

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Once the storm had cleared, the couple fortunately had not become trapped within the home or suffered any major injuries, despite getting a little roughed up. Mostly, it was the total shock in seeing their once luscious and scenic property now all but destroyed.

"I looked up and said, 'That's the sky,' because I could not believe there was no ceiling anymore and our house is totally destroyed," Valerie said.

"I just about lost it when I saw there was nothing there," John added.

The storm also damaged a nearby electrical tower just across the street, part of which resulted in a mass power grid outage. The tower has since been fully restored.

"We were just sitting there praying, hoping that we'd make it," John said. "We thought we were gone. You just never expect something like that to happen. We are just thankful to God that we were able to stand up and walk out from it."

Of the items damaged and destroyed, Valerie said she was able to salvage some of "the really important stuff" like photo albums and other family heirlooms.

"The photo albums were in an office behind the front wall, which is still there. It shielded some of them," Valerie said. "So most of my photo albums were saved, which is wonderful."

Hope to rebuild, continued support

Though they have been longtime Maury County residents, the Bernharts said they had only lived at their Blackburn Lane home for about a year.

John said the home, which encompasses seven acres, was meant to be a place to "relax, walk through the woods and have a nice, quiet piece of land to retire."

"This was her grandfather's farm and this was to be our retirement home," John said. "It was my hobby just going out, cutting trees and clearing paths, finding ways to get around out here."

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While the home is considered a total loss, there is hope to rebuild once again, though it will likely take a long time between insurance, damage assessments, recovery and construction. In the meantime, the Bernharts say they are staying with relatives, and are looking to move into a townhome or apartment for the time being.

"We've got insurance, though the price of the house has gone up since we built it, which took about two years," John said. "So it might come up a little short on the house, but we've got enough personal property insurance that I think if we can do without some stuff we had, we can come out okay and get ahead."

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The Bernharts, like many other affected families in the community, also continued to receive support over the weekend. This included donations of food, water and other supplies from local churches, volunteers and neighbors.

"There are all kinds of people driving around now that they can get in, and we've got a lot of people helping us," John said. "It's the most terrifying thing we ever saw, and we hope we never see anything like it again. You hear about it all the time, but until you sit there and go through it, you just don't understand, seeing your whole life gone."

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Family loses everything in tornado: 'Thank God we are alive'