Couple counts blessings after tree crashes into house during overnight storms

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) says state health officials confirmed one death in Shelby County overnight was weather-related.

The agency did not provide any more details.

The ominous sound of sirens blaring in the middle of the night jolted many Memphians out of bed.

Others were awakened by an emergency alert notification sent to their cell phones.

Thousands tuned in immediately to Action News 5′s Ron Childers and Spencer Denton, who warned about possible rotation near the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium around midnight.

Barr and Anna Leigh Miler live near the Liberty Bowl and were watching the news on their laptop.

“We got in the closet and really shortly after that,” said Anna Leigh Miller. “I was on the phone with my mom and a huge crash came through and it was our neighbor’s tree that just came through the entire back bedroom.”

“One minute there was a window and a wall and the next minute there wasn’t,” said Barr Miller.

Luckily, neither of them were hurt.

“Had it not been for us having the news on, on our laptop, we probably wouldn’t have gone to the closet,” said Anna Leigh Miller.

Across the city, emergency crews responded to multiple reports of trees falling and powerlines snapping, but Memphis was spared from the worst damage.

As devastating as the damage was to their home, Barr and Anna Leigh Miller are counting their blessings.

“We’re just very grateful that we’re safe and our neighbors are safe, and everything is replaceable, but our safety is not,” said Anna Leigh Miller.

The storms also knocked out power to more than 25,000 MLGW customers.

By late Saturday afternoon, more than 14,000 customers remained without power in Memphis.

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