Cellphone alerts helped Tennessee couple escape to basement

This Santa bear came to rest in the splinter of a tree in the Locust Grove area just off Highway 70 west of Cookeville, Tenn.,Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (Jack McNeely/The Herald-Citizen via AP)

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020 photo, Billy Dyer of Baxter, Tenn., stands beside his home damaged by an early morning tornado, in Baxter, Tenn. The walls on the upper floor around his bedroom are gone. Cell phone emergency alerts gave him and his wife enough time to get to the basement. Tornadoes that struck Tennessee early Tuesday killed at least 24 with an unspecified number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Teresa M. Walker)

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020 photo, residents check their homes and each other along 16th Ave. N after a tornado hit the Elizabeth Park neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020 photo, Sid Osborne surveys the damage at his home on Hunters Hill Rd. after a tornado ripped through the Donelson neighborhood in Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

This Tuesday, March 3, 2020 aerial photo shows the Stanford Estates neighborhood near Donelson Christian Academy after a tornado ripped through Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

This Tuesday, March 3, 2020 aerial photo shows the Hermitage neighborhood after a tornado ripped through Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

People work to salvage items Tuesday, March 3, 2020, near Cookeville, Tenn. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding more than 140 buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020 photo, Nicole (last name not given) looks through her refrigerator after it was ripped out of her home at Underwood St. and 16th Ave. N. after a tornado ripped a wall off in the Elizabeth Park neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

A worker searches for victims among the rubble in an area where several people were killed by storms Tuesday, March 3, 2020, near Cookeville, Tenn. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding more than 140 buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. At least 22 people were killed. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020 photo, residents of a home at Underwood St. and 16th Ave. N. try to figure out their next steps after a tornado ripped a wall off their home in the Elizabeth Park neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

This Tuesday, March 3, 2020 aerial photo shows Mt. Juliet after a tornado ripped through Middle Tennessee in Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV The Tennessean via AP)

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020 photo, Ann Hooven and her granddaughter Caroline Hooven survey the damage at their home on Hunters Hill Rd. after a tornado ripped through the Donelson neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

A road separates properties filled with debris Tuesday, March 3, 2020, near Lebanon, Tenn. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding more than 140 buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

A man looks for items he can salvage from his store Tuesday, March 3, 2020, near Cookeville, Tenn. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding more than 140 buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. At least 22 people were killed. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Emergency rescue personnel search for the missing in Cookville, Tenn., where several homes exploded from their foundations during the powerful storm Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (Jack McNeely/The Herald-Citizen via AP)

A destroyed business stands Tuesday, March 3, 2020, near Lebanon, Tenn. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding more than 140 buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. At least 22 people were killed. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020 photo, Carlos Barquero cuts trees that damaged his home on Hunters Hill Rd. after a tornado ripped through the Donelson neighborhood in Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, left, prays with Kayla Cowen, right, as Cowen looks through rubble in hopes of finding a neighbor Tuesday, March 3, 2020, near Cookeville, Tenn. Lee was touring damaged areas and met Cowen as she was searching. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020 photo, Henry Watts works to remove debris from his home after a tornado ripped through the Stanford Estates Neighborhood near Donelson Christian Academy in Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)