2008 Union University Tornado

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)–Recovering from the tornado that ravaged Union University’s campus Feb. 5 will require people to “roll up their sleeves” in a long-term effort, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Feb. 7 during a visit to the west Tennessee campus. Bredesen and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff toured the university to get a firsthand […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Evidenced by homes reduced to rubble and loss of life, experts said the Feb. 5 outbreak of tornadoes that killed 55 people across the Southeast was the deadliest in more than 20 years. One story of survival emerged from Savannah, Tenn., where an expectant mother and her husband knelt in a church as […]

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Media outlets across the nation are carrying coverage of students' reactions after surviving a tornado that struck the campus of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., Feb. 5, destroying dormitories and leaving students trapped inside the rubble.

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--"It was very emotional at Union" the day after the tornado, said Josh Clarke, immediate past president of the Student Government Association.

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen toured the tornado-ravaged Union University campus Feb. 7, as the long process of cleaning up debris and rebuilding the campus begins.       "We're going to be here," Chertoff said, "to stand shoulder to shoulder with the governor and help you get cleaned up and get back to school.... We're really glad you're alive and we're looking forward to coming back to the campus when it is spic and span and rebuilt."

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Union University will launch a major clean-up effort Feb. 7 after taking a day to evaluate damage inflicted on the campus by a tornado that struck Jackson, Tenn., early the evening of Feb. 5. "Today is a day of assessment," said Union President David S. Dockery in an open letter Feb. 6. "Initial efforts to help students return to their homes or to a safe place also have started today and will continue throughout the week. A major clean-up project will start on Thursday." University officials also are at work drafting an "intermediate strategy" to help get classes underway again on Feb. 18, Dockery said, despite the fact that almost every building on campus sustained significant damage during the storm.

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)–Fifty-one students were treated for injuries and nine were kept overnight in a local hospital after a tornado wreaked havoc on the campus of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., Feb. 5. All students have been accounted for and, while some of the injuries were serious, none were life threatening, Union President David S. […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Baptist Press has created a blog site for news and updates from Union University, which sustained severe damage in a Feb. 5 tornado. The blog site, which will be updated as information is received, can be accessed at www.bpnews.net/blog/, or simply by going to Baptist Press’ homepage and clicking the “Union University Tornado […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--More than 60 rare winter tornadoes touched down in parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi Feb. 5, killing at least 48 people and leaving residents to cope with damaged homes, downed power lines and fallen trees.