Cookeville Tornado Cleanup Continues Saturday After Over A Year

The effects of the 2020 March tornado are still present in Cookeville with cleanup continuing this Saturday.

The Monterey Lions Club Disaster Response Team have been working at ground zero for over a year. Team Leader Ken Hall said about two weeks of work remain, so volunteers are welcome to join.

“It is amazing what has been done when you compare it to what was left after the storm went through,” Hall said. “It’s cleaned up, but there are still properties that have not been touched.”

Hall said efforts will focus on the area of J.L. McBroom Road and Echo Valley. Hall said crews will meet at Kohl’s on West Jackson Street and convoy to the site at 8:00 a.m.

“It’ll be hot in August, so we’ll go into the area at 8:15 and work until 11:30 or noon to call it a day,” Hall said. “People will over heat, and it is hard work. You don’t want to wear people out, so we will probably put in about four hours of work.”

Hall said the disaster team has called out to some 100 response groups to help with cleaning. Hall said people will be picking up old debris and leftover construction from rebuilding projects.

“A disaster from a storm that massive, it takes years to recover, especially with different insurance companies and financing at different rates,” Hall said. “So, a year, two years sometimes even longer people are still needing help.”