Families forced from Clarksville apartments due to tornado damage
Apartment complex told many residents they had to move almost immediately so repairs could be completed.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Dozens of families in Clarksville are looking for new homes after their apartment complex forced almost everyone to move out because of tornado damage. The contractor said it will likely take a year until everything is repaired at the Blue Grass Meadows Apartments.
John Graham has been living out of his tornado-damaged car since Saturday because his apartment is in even worse condition. He was home when the EF-3 tornado hit Clarksville and described it as 10 seconds of horror.
That was just the start of a nightmare for Graham. People who live in the complex were only given a couple hours’ notice to move everything out before units were emptied for repairs to begin.
“I will probably have to sleep in my car for a couple of months before I can raise the money to move out and go somewhere,” Graham said. “Life comes and goes sometimes. Some time you get help and some time you don’t. You can’t cry about it. You just have to move on.”
The contractor for the project says they will start roof work Friday and they hope to have half the apartment complex reopened by the end of January.
Three buildings have already been reopened because they currently have water and electricity. The apartment management company is expecting a fourth building to reopen over the weekend but said it will likely take a year until all repairs are completed.
Robert Lamb is one of the many people to not get a temporary unit from the management company. They only had about 40 open apartments and more than 100 people to relocate from damaged structures.
“While there is plenty of free food, financial assistance is hard to come by,” Lamb said. “That is the one thing that most of us need at this point, is the finances just to find a new place. Even with all the waived fees, people are still wanting application fees and deposits.”
Lamb said he was lucky to find another place to live and Graham is going to stay with friends. They are both hoping other families can recover from the damage and get settled as soon as possible.
Laytoya Outlaw said she and other neighbors and police confronted the owners on Thursday.
“Did you know that we were supposed to get 14 days notice plus rent and deposit given back,” Outlaw asked owners, who replied yes. “Do you not know that people over here lost, some of them, everything? We are going through something and you’re out here cursing and being rude. That’s not right. You don’t treat people like that.”
Blue Grass Meadows expects to be able to save every apartment building and avoid complete demolition. Right now, the City of Clarksville has not listed any homes as uninhabitable.
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