American Idol winner Taylor Hicks was one of many Nashville residents affected by the monstrous tornado that tore a 2-mile-long path through Putnam County early Tuesday.
On Friday, the 43-year-old provided a first hand account of the ‘traumatic experience’ he endured and detailed the devastation caused to his home.
‘This tornado seemed like it came out of nowhere,’ began Hicks who spoke exclusively to People.
Traumatic experience: American Idol season five winner Taylor Hicks opened up on Friday about his experience during the devastating earthquake that tore through Nashville early Tuesday morning; Hicks pictured in September during an appearance at SiriusXM Studios in NYC
He continued: ‘I remember looking outside my window and there was so much lightning, and then the power went off… it was not a flickering outage.’
According to Hicks, the power ‘went off immediately in a blink of an eye’ and that was when he knew to ‘get into a safe place.’
‘I could feel the whole house completely shake,’ described the American Idol winner who eventually found refuge in his home’s crawl space.
‘I just had to get into the crawl space and I held on. I heard the debris. I heard the train sound. I held on for dear life.’
‘There for a moment, it’s almost like I went through temporary insanity because it’s such a traumatic experience because you don’t know at that point where the storm is tracking.’
Close to home: Though Hicks was not subject to injury, the singer revealed that his home (NOT PICTURED) took the brunt of the tornado’s ruthless wrath; damage captured in the wake of Nashville earthquake
Devastation: Drone footage shows homes ripped apart in Mount Juliet after deadly tornado that hit Nashville on Tuesday
Though Hicks was not subject to injury, the singer revealed that his home took the brunt of the tornado’s ruthless wrath.
The roof of the home was ‘damaged,’ and his yard was flood with debris and ‘snapped’ trees.
‘My patio furniture was in a tree three blocks from me…Halfway down my alleyway buildings had collapsed and roofs were missing.’
According to the Nashville Fire Department, the tornado destroyed a total of 48 structures across four counties.
A total of 18 people, including five children under 13 lost their lives as a result of the tornado. Another 88 were injured, some critically.
Nashville Strong: Other celebrities, including Justin Timberlake shared their grief on social media; Timberlake shared a photo of the wreckage on Thursday to his Instagram page
Following the initial tornado, another powerful storm barreled eastward from Nashville along a 50-mile path, killing five.
Hicks admitted to experiencing survivor’s guilt, when he stopped to ‘think about the people who were lost in this tornado.’
‘You stand there alive but then you immediately see within 100 yards there was death. That’s where you put things into perspective and you ask ‘What about those that were lost and why you — why did you survive?’
Hicks also described how tragedy can often times ‘puts things into perspective on your life and how small we are in the grand scheme of things.’
He added: ‘I’m just happy to be here on the planet.’
Not the only one: Other celebrities, including Taylor Swift, voiced their grief over the devastating earthquake on social media throughout the week
‘I’m also very sad and my heart goes out to the people who have lost their lives and all their belongings. Everything can be rebuilt except loss of life,’ concluded Hicks.
Other celebrities, including Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake, came forward on social media throughout the week to express their grief and bestow their sympathies on the people of Nashville.
Swift, who is a Nashville native, took the tragedy especially hard.
‘Nashville is my home and the fact that so many lost their homes and so much more in Middle Tennessee is devastating to me.’
The Lover songstress concluded her post by urging her 127million Instagram followers to donate to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund.
Timberlake shared a haunting image from the wreckage that featured a patriotic mural with the painted phrase ‘I Believe In Nashville.’