How the Church of Jesus Christ Is Responding to the Tennessee Tornadoes

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are rallying to help their neighbors clean up and provide emergency relief supplies in the wake of a half dozen tornadoes that swept through northern Tennessee on Saturday, December 9, 2023, killing six people.  

Around 300 volunteers are working with the United Way to assist with the cleanup efforts beginning Thursday, December 14.  

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The Church of Jesus Christ is also sending generators, gas cans and extension cords to the affected areas. These supplies will help restore power to many homes, providing heat during the current winter temperatures. 

Stratie Young, a regional leader of the Church from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, is grateful for the efforts already being made. “I consider myself blessed to be part of a community that loves and supports one another in times of turmoil and distress. It is a real time application of being willing to follow Jesus Christ, and bear one another’s burden that they may be light, mourn with those who mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.” 

The Church will also be working with Catholic Charities USA and the American Red Cross to enhance disaster relief, mental health and spiritual care, and emergency food assistance. 

The National Weather Service in Nashville, Tennessee, reports the Clarksville tornado was on the ground for one hour with peak wind speeds of 150 mph and traveled 43 miles across three counties and two states (Tennessee and Kentucky). More than sixty people suffered injuries. 

Local emergency management in Clarksville reported more than 325 homes with moderate damage and almost 300 additional homes with major damage making them uninhabitable. 

Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are reported safe. Members whose homes have been impacted are staying with friends and other members or at hotels.