“I was in complete shock when people told me Sim Scott Park was gone, and the damage that was done to Hunt (School),” remembered Fred Shelton. “I was like, ‘Really?’ So I sent someone over there, and they told me, ‘No, it’s really gone.’”
Shelton, then chief of Columbus Police Department, was on his way back to town on the evening of Feb. 23, 2019.
“I saw the bad weather, the rain, but I didn’t know the impact,” Shelton told The Dispatch this week. “I didn’t see any damage yet, but I knew I was going to have to go to work.”
That night Shelton — along with other first responders, city officials and affected citizens — began grappling with the aftermath of an EF-3 tornado that ripped right through the center of Columbus. The storm hit in the evening, knocking out power and leaving roadways cluttered with debris and fallen power lines.
“We knew we had to maintain the night so people could help the next day,” Shelton said. “We were trying to make sure people weren’t looting, but we also wanted to keep people off the street so they wouldn’t get hurt. We made some efforts to go door-to-door to collapsed houses and make sure nobody was in there.”
The storm
According to National Weather Service data, the twister — one of two Lowndes County tornadoes that day — touched down about 5:15 p.m. on the southwest edge of town, near First Street South. It moved northeast, through downtown and into Memphis Town, where the heaviest damage happened. It eventually moved toward Highway 50, demolishing businesses near the intersection of Gardner Boulevard and Tuscaloosa Road. It began to weaken as it approached the state line, lifting just as it entered Alabama.
Its path was about a quarter-mile wide and 10 miles long, and its winds reached 137 mph. One person was killed due to injuries suffered from a building collapse, and there were 19 other injuries reported.
Lowndes County Emergency Management Director Cindy Lawrence said the storm caused about $4 million in damages throughout the city, with about 275 homes and 38 businesses damaged or destroyed.
Former Columbus Public Information Officer Joe Dillon — who compiled records for the city during the tornado and the subsequent flooding events — said city-owned property accounted for about $1.65 million of that figure.
The bulk of the damages came from Sim Scott Park, where two buildings were destroyed, and from debris pickup in the aftermath, Dillon said.
“The biggest piece was the debris pickup,” he said. “We allowed people to move debris from private property onto the road and then the city picked it up.”
In the end the city was reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for about $1 million, Dillon said. The city withdrew its application for reimbursement for Sim Scott due to bidding irregularities, but the bulk of the cost of the new building was covered by insurance money.
The Hunt campus, which housed an African-American history museum and a Columbus Recreation Department facility, was badly damaged. A $16.5 million reconstruction project is currently underway, funded mostly by federal and state emergency money and an insurance settlement.
The Columbus Municipal School District plans to use it for its sixth-grade campus, as well as the future home for career technology programs. The museum will also return.
‘We knew something big was happening’
Lawrence said it was hard to know what was going on outside when the storm first came through. She was at her post in the EMA building, next to the Lowndes County Courthouse, when the power went out and the generator kicked on.
“We were standing near the doorway, trying to see outside,” Lawrence said. “The thing that got everybody was WCBI talking about going to (their) safe place, so we knew something big was happening.”
Dillon, who had been out shopping downtown as the tornado hit, was at WCBI when it passed over.
“When (the tornado) came over, I went to WCBI to ride it out,” Dillon said. “They put people in the basement, and as we came out the power was out. I remember thinking we were so used to instant information, and yet we had no idea if it was an isolated incident or what.”
Emerging from the station was disconcerting, Dillon said.
“It was dark and quiet and eerie,” Dillon said. “You didn’t hear sirens, you didn’t hear anything. There weren’t cars on the road. It was like people had just vanished.”
A large swathe of the city — about 4,700 customers — were left without power. The darkness, combined with the large number of downed power lines, meant it was hard to get out and survey the damage. Lawrence said it was daybreak the following day before she could take stock.
“I never expected to see what I saw that day. Never,” Lawrence said. “That was the area where I grew up, and that brought it home to me.”
Shelton said he was stunned by the damage, but also thankful.
“It looked like somebody just slapped down a bunch of buildings,” Shelton said. “The fact that there weren’t a lot of people dead was truly amazing.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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