MCNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. — McNairy County, Tennessee is just 100 miles away from Memphis, and the town is dealing with a rising death toll that sat at 9 on Saturday evening after devastating storms and a tornado made it's way through the Mid-South Friday evening.
The residents of Adamsville, a city in McNairy County, are part of a tight-knit community.
Residents said they haven’t seen a storm leave as much damage as Friday's since 1991.
One of the survivors, 97-year-old Nell Daniel, is walking away with just one small injury.
“I got one little bruise placed on my hand, and that glass was just flying everywhere in the bathroom,” Daniel said. “Everything in the bathroom fell [and] broke.”
Still, the four inner walls of the bathroom kept her sheltered from the storm.
“The house just lifted — it felt like it was gonna tear apart,” she said. “It just terrified me to death. I was scared to death. I never went through anything like it.”
Nell said she’s lived in her home for 63 years, braving every storm inside and still making it back outside to see another day.
She lives alone but her family traveled from all over the state to come lend a hand. Her daughter said if Nell stayed in her bed that night, she may not have survived.
Nell’s daughter explained that when they arrived at the home, Nell’s bed was flipped up against the wall and there was no roof on the back room.
Nell is lucky to be alive but devastated her lifelong home is gone forever.
“My life is ruined — there’s nothing like it,” she said through tears.
Regardless, she’s grateful for the community support in her darkest hours.
“I have a wonderful wonderful family though and neighbors I’m so proud of,” she said.
As Nell and her neighbors pick up the pieces of what’s left, they’re preparing for next steps.
Resident Jason Sullivan said he simply wasn’t expecting the storm and is almost at a loss for words now.
“I didn’t really know it was coming,” Sullivan said. “I just ran in the house and got in the bathroom and waited it out, but it was pretty crazy.”
He went on to say the storm didn’t last more than two minutes, yet still left everlasting damage.
"I came out — trees were down," Sullivan said. "I couldn’t see, and then I walked around and the shop was gone,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan lives about 200 yards away from Daniel’s home but somewhere in the middle the damage did more than take a home.
Near the two homes' halfway point lies another Adamsville home where a grandmother lost her life.
The family was too devastated to speak after bunkering down for hours only to find out their parent, who lived next-door, didn’t make it.
The grandmother who passed live side-by-side her daughter and son-in-law. Her granddaughter made the journey by car from South Carolina to Adamsville, Tennessee, overnight, pulling into what was left of the driveway at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.
Neighbors quickly got to work assessing the damage at each home, volunteering to salvage what they could in the homes they could find, especially since many people in Adamsville are born and raised there.
“I’ve lived in this community since I was six years old, but I won’t be able to ever live here anymore,” Daniel said. “It’s gonna have to be torn down.”
Nell Daniel said she now understands the pain so many others have gone through more than she ever could have imagined.
“I just didn’t dream it’d ever happen,” she said. “You see it happen other places and feel for those people, but you don’t have any idea how they feel until you go through it yourself.”
As rescue efforts and damage assessments continue, the community insists on rallying together and providing for their neighbors. The pastor of First Baptist Church Adamsville has opened the doors to any and everyone. Warm food; water, sweet tea, clothes, bathrooms and showers all with a smile on their face and a hug if you need it.