Evergreen – A miles-long path of destruction was left in the tornado’s wake, affecting over 100 homes. Winds reached up to 165 mph and the tornado traveled for about 17 miles.
It shook the foundation of many Evergreen community members’ lives, but it didn’t shake their faith. On the 10-year anniversary of the EF-3 tornado that roared through the Appomattox community, many are reflecting on the community’s resilience, including us here at 10 News.
The EF-3 tornado touched down Feb. 24, 2016, destroying a church, damaging homes, injuring several people, and claiming the life of a beloved husband of 53 years, Keith Harris.
The tornado tore the steeple off Central Baptist Church and hurled it nearly 200 feet from the building. Neighbors 10 News spoke with described chaotic rescues and flipped vehicles in the storm’s wake.
“They said, hold on. I didn’t hold on because I didn’t know what he’s talking about and I looked and saw the camper flying through the air,” Margaret Dinges said, describing the moment a truck flipped while she and her son were inside.
The next morning, then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe made an aerial tour of the damage. He reported spotting a roughly 12- to 15-mile path of destruction as he surveyed fields and leveled properties.
Homes in the storm’s path were leveled and families searched for missing relatives in the immediate aftermath. Joshua Burchett and Tracy Morgan were among those whose family homes were destroyed.
“As soon as everything stopped, I just looked out the door and I saw that the house was gone and that’s when it’s a panic mode trying to find my brother,” Tracy Morgan said.
For an hour and a half, family members could not find him. They later discovered he had been thrown from the home into a neighbor’s house and was hospitalized.
“We kept looking and he, he ended up, he got pulled out of the living room and he got thrown against the brick house that’s right there and then wound up in a neighbor’s house but he’s in the hospital,” Morgan said.
A family member said the brother’s dog woke him during the storm and helped save him, though the pet did not survive.
“His dog woke him up and I guess the wall started to come down and then he got just torn out of the house,” a family member said.
Months later, the brother described being sucked into the tornado’s funnel and thrown from his home.
“I was walking back into the house and the windows exploded. I dropped to the ground and covered my head, and as soon as I hit the ground I got sucked into the funnel and thrown out of my house,” he said in an interview.
The family said they later found the dog dead.
“And the sad thing is the little dog that saved his life. We found her dead just a little bit ago. So we wrapped her up and we’re going to bury her in a little bit,” Tracy Morgan said.
Nancy Harris, who was injured while driving home during the storm, later learned her husband had died and her house was destroyed.
“I’m blessed that I had in 53 years and that’s a long time, you know, to be together and it’s, it’s something that it’ll never be the same again. But, you know, it’s going to be built back to a certain degree and I’m grateful for that,” Harris said in 2016.
Volunteers and local organizations — including God’s Pit Crew, Spirit FM and WSLS 10 — partnered to help rebuild Harris’ life and constructed a new house for her. Organizers staged a surprise unveiling that included a blindfold and a tractor-trailer blocking the view to heighten the reveal.
“I think everybody on the other side of this truck is as anxious as Nancy is too for this moment,” Randy Johnson, founder of God’s Pit Crew, said.
Volunteers chanted as they prepared to reveal the home.
Move that truck! It was an incredible moment to be part of and witness.
“What you can’t put it in words, you really can’t have how you feel because it’s just so much, you know, emotions and so much to be grateful for. And God has been good to me,” Harris said.
Tuesday night, Evergreen Baptist Church will host a tornado anniversary service of worship and remembrance at 7 p.m. The community is invited.