Gov. Bill Lee tours devastated Tennessee communities: 'In just a moment, lives are lost'

Sandy Mazza
Nashville Tennessean

Gov. Bill Lee toured some of the hardest-hit communities by severe storms that carried numerous tornadoes on Saturday, calling it a "very difficult day for many of our neighbors."

Four people were confirmed dead in northwestern Tennessee's Lake County and neighboring Obion County, with one person still missing in the area and ten people suffered injuries. 

Lee said he spoke with President Joe Biden and is pursuing federal emergency-relief funds. 

The storms, a clash of warm southern air with an easterly cold front, cycled through West Tennessee until turning north into Kentucky where at least 70 people are believed to have died. 

Damage:Tornadoes, wall of storms leave death, destruction across South and Midwest

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"We're reminded that in just a moment, lives are lost, livelihoods are lost, and lives are changed forever," Lee said. "We had an immediate response from law enforcement and first responders across the state. There is a great deal of hope amid real devastation."

Lee also praised communities that provided timely emergency warnings and shelters for preventing a greater loss of life.

"The town of Dresden in Weakley County is significantly damaged," he said. "When you look at that town and the amount of damage that occurred, and we know there were no fatalities, that's because people were prepared."

Lee also joined a call with governors in many surrounding states still reeling from the disaster as they plan to rebuild. 

Statewide, 63,000 people remained without power Saturday night – mostly in Davidson County. Middle Tennessee suffered widespread damages to power lines, trees, signs and structures.

Lee met with reporters after his tour at Major Gen. Hugh B. Mott Tennessee National Guard Headquarters and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency headquarters.

He started the afternoon in Tiptonville, where the smell of an upended natural gas tank permeated. 

Lee then traveled to Dresden and Dickson County, where he said whole communities were destroyed. 

At Cypress Point Resort, where a father and his 12-year-old son were found dead, families huddled in a bathroom as walls were torn out around them. 

"A little town like this relies on tourism from the lake entirely,” Lee said. “So for all those places to be gone, the economic challenge for a community like this is hard to describe."

Kim Kruesi with the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at smazza@tennessean.com, by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.