NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – One year after a deadly tornado took the lives of three people on her street, Marcella Chance remembers the terrifying moments that destroyed her home and sent her family running for cover.
“People say it sounds like a freight train, but it’s worse!” says Chance.
Her home on Nesbitt Lane was ripped apart by an EF-2 tornado on Dec. 9, 2023. One year later, the home’s 2nd story is still open to the elements as no efforts to rebuild have taken place. An issue with her home insurance meant that only her loan was covered, not the cost of rebuilding the home’s structure.
“Now the issue we have is people are breaking in, they steal everything they can and we got condemned and I couldn’t go in and save everything, so I lost it all,” says Chance. “There’s moments where I still cry.”
Chance’s home was one of 796 homes damaged or destroyed in Nashville. In most cases, FEMA provides rental assistance for families who need help, but Chance says it hasn’t been smooth.
“You know, FEMA suggested we get the apartment and that’s what we did, thinking we were going to get the help and we hadn’t gotten it,” Chance says, detailing a singular check she received in March 2024 containing enough money to cover two months of rent.
WSMV has reached out to FEMA for comment on the Chance family’s issue obtaining rental assistance.
FEMA gave the following statement:
Homeowners of another home destroyed on Nesbitt Lane have received help from the organization Nashville Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). VOAD is a group of Davidson County community organizations whose goal is to provide knowledge and resources throughout the disaster cycle—preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery.
“The long-term recovery group is assembled in order to support those who just don’t have those resources,” says Alex Dorman, the Chair of VOAD’s Long-Term Recovery Group.
Dorman adds that VOAD has completed four construction projects after the Dec. 9 tornado on homes that weren’t otherwise covered by insurance. The organization has 12 projects currently under construction from the tornado and another 20 homes that will still need the group’s financial assistance to pay for repairs.
“Unfortunately, these [weather] events are only gonna continue to happen,” says Dorman.
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Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.