KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — It has been one week since an EF-2 tornado touched down in West Knoxville.
A National Weather Service survey team learned that the tornado’s path led right through the Devanshire subdivision, just east of Pellissippi Parkway and south of Lovell Road. On the ground, the damage was obvious; roofs and shingles peeled off, and trees were knocked down. Some houses looked like they had been hit with a shotgun blast.
Jeff Sallas lives in Devanshire. His roof was damaged after his neighbor’s roof flew off and on top of his from the storms.
“Everything comes at you at once and so forth. My neighbor’s roof whose roof ended up on my house. [They] actually can’t live in the house at this point, so they had to go off and live somewhere else,” Sallas said. “Finally after a week, I just talked with my insurance claims adjuster after a week.”
Currently, Sallas has a tarp on half of his roof to serve as a temporary fix.
“It split all trusses in my house and they’re all split,” Sallas said. “They are going to have to rebuild that half of the roof again with new trusses.”
The community is now focused on getting through this time together.
“Everyone is hurt at this point and so forth,” Sallas said. “I think it is very unsettling for people. Everyone is talking about how they can adjust to this new normal.”
Sallas expects it to take several months for his roof to be repaired. Repairs like this are happening across West Knox County.