‘We were lucky this time’
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Enterprise get hits with tornado
A tornado touched down in Enterprise Oct. 8, causing damage to the Enterprise Civic Center, Wal-Mart and other shopping centers.Published: October 8, 2008
Updated: October 9, 2008
ENTERPRISE — The Enterprise Civic Center served as the emergency center during the March 1, 2007, tornado, but Wednesday the Civic Center was the center of its own emergency as it was struck by a tornado.
Coffee County Emergency Management Agency Director John Tallas said an eyewitness confirmed a touchdown by a funnel cloud in the Civic Center parking lot.
A tornado warning had been issued for the Enterprise area shortly before the storm struck.
“We had structural damage and vehicles damaged similar to that at the high school on March 1,” Tallas said.
“Fortunately we had no reports of serious injuries, no entrapments, but we did have some reports of trees down and power lines down.
“Anytime we can come through something like this with this little damage, we are thankful.“
Enterprise Lions Club members and a local senior citizens group were at the Civic Center when the storm struck. Leta Muraski, director of the seniors group, said there was no time for the group to move to a more sheltered area before the tornado smashed into the building.
“We just tried to keep them inside and keep them from getting hurt or hurting themselves,” she said. “My heart is still fluttering from it. It’s just a bad day.“
Civic Center employee Mickey McCrummen said he was in the area of the Red Cross office in the Civic Center and had just heard a storm warning when the tornado hit the building.
“It got real dark like last time and I thought ’Don’t tell me we are about to be hit again.’ Then it hit and glass started breaking and doors slamming. I was just looking for somewhere to get and then it was over.“
After surveying damage to the Civic Center and in the surrounding area, McCrummen said he was surprised at the extent of the damage.
“I have never seen so much damage from such a small storm.” he said.
Red Cross Board Chairman Frederick Grase said the agency’s offices in the Civic Center were destroyed in the storm.
He added the agency will be moving its equipment to a donated space on Park Avenue to resume operations.
“We will be up and running again as soon as we can get all of our equipment in place.” Grase said. “We are just blessed that there apparently were no injuries this time.“
Enterprise Fire Chief Byron Herring confirmed that there had been no injury reports from the storm. He said fire department personnel responded to the Civic Center immediately after the storm struck.
After confirming no injuries had occurred at the Civic Center, the fire chief said his department’s personnel began going street to street and house to house in the storm-damaged area to see if anyone had been injured during the severe weather.
“We were lucky this time,” Herring said.
Danny Lewis is the managing editor of The Enterprise Ledger.
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Reader Reactions
those cars did not look the same. i remember seeing cars in the side of buildings and flipped up side down. this showed there was broken glass and some body damage.
and what we are saying is not negative towards the people in it.enterprise needed a new civic center any ways.
Why do people always have to have something negative to say when something like this happens. Why can’t everyone just be glad that noone was injured during this storm. I myself was in this storm and my brother was working inside the Civic Center when the tornado hit it. For us both this was our first time being in the middle of something like this. In a way those vehicles in the Civic Center parking lot looked like some of those in the last tornado, but what does it matter if it resemble it or not? Just be gald noone was hurt.
sorry but this in no way is the same as the last one. first of all size of the twister and damaged caused. yes it did some damage but this little one did not carveup the city. it hit one building big difference.
“We had structural damage and vehicles damaged similar to that at the high school on March 1,” Tallas said.
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In regards to this comment - I don’t mean to belittle anyone who’s been affected by today’s storm by any means. But for the EMA director to compare what happened today to the march 1st tragedy, or that the damage is similar in any way, is most certainly belittling what happened on that day.
It’s not even comparable. They had windows blown out of their cars, where we had cars pancaked on top of each other and located blocks away, and in one case in a tree. In another, lodged through the front of someone’s house.
I’m by no means an expert in structural damage. However, I was in the high school on March 1st where an entire wing collapsed on itself, walls and ceilings collapsed in the rest of the building. A building large enough to house, comfortably, 1,400 people or more. I’m glad no one was injured at the civic center, but I have to reiterate that the damage today can in no way be called “similar” to the catastrophe that was March 1st.
But just in case the EMA director needs reminding, I’ve included a picture.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/Napkinfish/dtsdt.jpg
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