Michael W. Smith Joins Volunteers to Bring Relief to the Victims of the Tennessee Tornado

A tornado swept through parts of the city of Nashville on Monday night.  As a result, at least 24 people were killed, several others injured, and tens of thousands of households and businesses left without power. The death count is an accumulation of people in four counties, including Davidson (Nashville), Putnam, Benton and Wilson, according to NBC News.  

Singer and songwriter Michael W. Smith is at the forefront in bringing relief to the victims devstated by the tornado. He writes: "Disaster relief here in a devastated Nashville and middle Tennessee. But we are Nashville strong!" 

On Wednesday morning, the artist was in Mt. Juliet with the evangelical aid organization Samaritan's Purse, urging others to join the volunteer efforts. "It's going to be a long road to recovery," he said. "God's going to bless all these efforts." 

Moreover, Smith urges the church to be viligant in helping those in need. "Let the church rise up.." On Instagram Smith showed a photo of his family packing lunches for volunteers.  

"We have had loss of life all across this state," Gov. Bill Lee, who declared a state of emergency, said. Besides those confirmed dead, some people are unaccounted for, he said. "There are folks missing."

Lee said that the devastation he witnessed was "heartbreaking," but that he was proud of residents who helped each other in the aftermath.

"In the worst of circumstances the best of people comes out, and that's what we're seeing here in Tennessee," Lee said. "It is as we would expect."

This is the second most deadly tornado event in Tennessee history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center. Twisters killed 38 people in Tennessee on March 22, 1952, and 22 died in a tornado on Feb. 5, 2008, according to federal authorities. 

 

 

 

 

 

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