People affected by 1999 tornado reflect on deaths, damage in Tennessee
Four people killed by April 1999 storm
Four people killed by April 1999 storm
Four people killed by April 1999 storm
As the death toll climbs in Tennessee following a powerful hit from a tornado early Tuesday, people in Greater Cincinnati are reflecting on the deadly tornado that hit our region in April 1999.
One of the people we talked with lost his father to the storm.
Lives lost on that day in 1999 are honored at a memorial in Montgomery.
"It's just kind of amazing what Mother Nature can do," Cameron Smith said.
As people in Tennessee try to pick up the devastating pieces left behind from a powerful tornado, Cameron Smith, 26, knows some damage can never be repaired.
"I completely understand like what they're feeling because my dad has been gone for 21 years," Smith said.
He looks back at photos of his father, Charles Smith.
Cameron Smith reflects on a journey without him, beating cancer twice and turning to fitness for strength.
His father was one of four people killed in the early hour of April 9, 1999 as an F-4 twister ripped through Blue Ash, Montgomery and surrounding communities.
Cameron Smith said his father was driving to work at Bob Evans and he was hurrying to help workers take cover.
His father never made it.
Blue Ash City Councilmember Lee Czerwonka was also in the storm's path.
"I pushed my wife out of bed. My daughter was 4 at the time. Went and ran down the hallway. Grabbed her out of her bedroom and we couldn't get downstairs in time because the windows were coming on through," Czerwonka said.
His home is fine today, but he remembered needing a new roof, windows and shutters.
"We had about a million dollars worth of damage on this street alone," Czerwonka said.
For the families who lost loved ones on that day, there is no replacement, instead a reminder to cling to those you love before a storm ever comes.
"I want to try to remember everything I can about my dad because in reality I didn't really know him like most of my friends know their dads," Cameron Smith said.
Both men said it is important to remember lives lost and what those people stood for, and that people should help one another in every step of recovery after a storm.