Families survive deadly tornadoes, shocked by scenes of destruction

Published: 2006-04-11

GALLATIN, Tenn. (CNS) -- Last year, Jennifer Trahan helped a family relocate to Gallatin after they lost their New Orleans home in Hurricane Katrina. Now Trahan and her family have found themselves with nothing after their house was destroyed by a tornado, one of several that killed 12 people in Tennessee April 7. "You never think it's going to happen to you," said Trahan, a parishioner at St. Stephen Church in nearby Old Hickory. Across the state the storms damaged as many as 3,000 buildings and 167 people were injured. In Sumner County, where Gallatin is the county seat, there were reports of nine deaths, 150 people were injured, and up to 900 homes, farms and businesses were damaged or destroyed. "You never think you're going to be on the receiving end," Trahan told the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Nashville Diocese. "It's tough being on the receiving end. It's humbling."

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