'Why couldn't the house handle it?': Clarksville Tornado survey reveals homes held to foundations by nails, tape

Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean
Updated ·2 min read
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A Montgomery County Sheriff unit patrols a neighborhood on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, in Clarksville, Tenn. Tornadoes struck Middle Tennessee causing catastrophic damage and killing six people Saturday.

When survey crews with the National Weather Service began their work in Clarksville the level of destruction initially hinted at an EF-4 or 5 level storm.

But a mature maple tree, standing untouched while the home it stood in front of was ripped apart, gave them pause, Krissy Hurley with NWS Nashville said.

"Why couldn't the house handle it," Hurley wondered.

Hurley and the rest of the team ultimately rated the tornado that hit Clarksville an EF-3, with peak winds estimated at 150 mph and a 43-mile long track.

More: Where did tornadoes hit in Tennessee? See the tornado paths in Clarksville and Nashville

When it hit those houses, it had not yet reached peak strength and was estimated to be an EF-2 with 120 mph winds, according to the NWS report.

Those houses, the team found, couldn't handle the strength of the storm in part because how they were attached to the foundations.

"The tornado crossed into another neighborhood causing heavy damage in and near Eva Drive, with several houses shifted off their foundations that were only attached with straight nails," the report said.

The homes off Eva Drive were largely build in the mid-to-late 1960s. The homes on Kendall Drive, a stretch Hurley noted also used nails, were built between the late 1990s and mid-2000s, according to data kept online by the Montgomery County assessor's office.

Standard building codes from the mid-1990s require homes to be anchored at least six inches into concrete foundations with half inch bolts.

Straight nails, Hurley said, is one of the weaker options for builders to attach homes to foundations. Even worse, Hurley said, was the adhesive tape they discovered was also used by some builders.

"It just depends on how much you, how much the builder wants to spend on securing the home," Hurley said. "Bolts, screws, that's what you want to see, but there wasn't much of that in Clarksville."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee tornado survey shows homes held to foundation by nails, tape