NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Six months after a deadly tornado outbreak swept through Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, many are still dealing with its aftermath on a daily basis.

Seven people lost their lives on Dec. 9, 2023 with three of those deaths in Madison. The Metro Nashville Police Department identified 37-year-old Joseph Dalton, 31-year-old Floridema Perez, and 2-year-old Anthony Perez as the victims.

Bonnie Hux lives on Nesbitt Lane, next door to her mother and where those victims were killed.

‘I fainted from fear’: Madison father mourning after losing wife, 2-year-old in tornado

“You’d see him out, like I said, [the father would] have the kids out, she’d walk the kids sometimes,” Hux remembered. “And I was like, ‘Wow,’ I couldn’t believe that they actually passed.”

Hux was in Florida when the storm struck, but she later learned her mobile home had been destroyed and her mom’s home was heavily damaged. Hux is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for assistance, but in the meantime, she’s sleeping outside in a truck bed with a tarp and her three dogs.

“That’s where we cook, right there on the little fire. We got to buy ice every other day or every day to keep the food cold, so then we got the dogs, so yeah, it’s kind of frustrating,” Hux said as she walked News 2 though the property next to her mom’s home.

Madison woman reflects on learning her home was destroyed in tornado while she was ‘200 miles away’

Just behind that neighborhood, on East Campbell Road, Jennifer Hartman recalled trying to get home to her children and parents during the tornado.

“I was going through the tornado, I was trying to get back to my kids, and they [were] going through it,” Hartman said.

Her 9-year-old son, Gabe, was home at the time and remembers the storm well.

“It was like very loud, but like rain, but like very hard, but very fast,” he said.

Madison family reflects on tornado trapping them inside their home

Hartman continues to deal with property damage and recently got a new roof. Behind her home was a barn that was destroyed, but somehow, a beloved family Bible was able to weather the storm. The cover had some water damage; however, the pages were largely undisturbed.

“God’s real, and He let us survive and showed everybody it can be taken away in a minute, so as long as everybody survives, that’s the only thing that really matters to us,” Hartman said.

In addition to the three lives lost in Madison, four others were killed in Clarksville as a total of eight tornadoes hit the region.

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