COVINGTON, Tenn. — It was one month ago when a tornado ripped through Tipton County. The damage left students without a schools, people without a place to live, and a family without a loved one.
In a matter of moments the lives of hundreds in the county changed forever. When ABC24 first visited Covington following the tornado, the roads were covered in electrical wires and tree limbs. Now the roads are clear, and the city is building itself back up once again.
“It hit on a Friday night, and our normal routine that you assume is going to be there just got destroyed,” said Randi Carter. The tornado tore through her kids' school at Crestview Elementary, along with Crestview Middle, and several homes.
According to Covington Mayor Jan Hensley, close to 100 homes need to be demolished after the tornado. However, despite the destruction, the city rose to the occasion.
“Very quickly, the community that is really resilient, came together and came up with a plan to get to work,” said Carter.
Volunteers, and millions of dollars in donations poured into the community. Over the following weeks, crews started to clear the roads from debris.
“We've moved probably 30 to 40 thousand yards of debris,” said Hensley.
One of the biggest efforts for the rebuild is coming from Cobb Parr Park. Temporary schools are being built in what used to be a baseball field to replace the two Crestview schools. Hensley says the buildings should be ready for students in just over a week, where they can finish out the last few weeks of the school year.
“It’s encouraging to know that we have a place to put them to get back into a normal routine so that they can continue learning,” said Carter.
Once the students are dismissed for the year, there will be some fine tuning on the schools before classes start up again in the fall. Hensley says the students will likely go to the schools for the next few years while a more permanent building can be created.
When it comes to those schools, the city is hoping to take a lesson from March’s tornado. Hensley tells ABC24 he would like to see a safe room built in each of the schools, as well as the Covington Parks Services.
“Hopefully within the next few years, put something there so if this ever happens again, our citizens have a place to go and be safe,” said Hensley.
Job fairs were also organized to help everyone who lost a job due to the tornado. The Covington factory for the Delfield Company sustained serious damage, thus leaving 200 people without a job.