NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In the wake of Saturday's destructive tornadoes that swept through Madison, residents are still dealing with the aftermath, facing power outages, and life without electricity.
Nathan Bellefant has lived in Madison for 15 years and will never forget the terrifying moment the tornado tore through his neighborhood on Dec. 9.
While his home escaped major damage, the same cannot be said for many others in the area.
“It looked like a tornado came through. Just houses — houses gone, damaged, it’s just unreal,” said Bellefant.
The immediate concern for many residents, including Bellefant, has been the prolonged power outage.
The Nashville Electric Service (NES) has been working tirelessly to restore power to affected areas, but the process has proven to be time-consuming and challenging.
“I can’t heat anything up. I can’t cook anything, so what’s a person supposed to do? It’s all food you’re supposed to heat up,” said Bellefant, highlighting the difficulties residents are facing in the absence of electricity.
NES had initially communicated to affected residents that power restoration could take up to five to seven days.
As of today, that timeline is expected to be met, with the NES aiming to have power fully restored by the end of the day.
However, the situation remains uncertain for some residents, like Bellefant, who are hopeful but unsure when they will regain power.
Madison has emerged as one of the areas hardest hit by the storm, with many residents enduring cold nights without electricity. Crews have been deployed to the affected neighborhoods, working tirelessly to replace broken poles and repair transmission lines to expedite the restoration process.
“The first night I stayed here, and it was kind of cold. The next night it was just freezing. So, I had to stay at my daughter's house. Then that next morning, I went and bought a generator and hooked it up and ran my power in,” Bellefant said.
Despite the difficulties, there is a glimmer of hope as NES has successfully restored power to more than 47,000 customers.
The estimated time for power restoration in areas with extreme damage is tomorrow, providing some relief for residents who have endured days of hardship.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
