Storm leaves trail of damage in downtown New Albany
NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WCBI) – Early morning storms uprooted trees and damaged some buildings in downtown New Albany.
Video from security cameras outside the New Albany police department and municipal complex showed the moment the rain and high winds hit, toppling trees and lifting the roof.
“Luckily no one was injured, and we didn’t have a whole lot of damage as far as vehicles and things like that. But we do have some structural damage here and in the downtown area,” said New Albany Police Chief Chris Robertson.
Crews with New Albany Light, Gas, and Water were cutting limbs off a tree that was damaged by the winds. Those winds caused major roof damage at the Chancery Court Building and at the EMA Office, where an HVAC unit was ripped off the roof landing in the street.
EMA Director Curt Clayton said the damage was bad, but it could have been a lot worse.
“If this had happened during business hours, it could have been bad. The roof part that came up is right over the boardroom. We have a ceiling falling where ladies work inside the chancery. Our office, where the air unit got picked up, is over one of the secretary’s offices,” said Clayton.
At New Albany First Baptist, the education building sustained damage to the roof and minor damage at the Family Life Center across the street.
“Seems like all damage is concentrated here downtown. Those members I have talked to said they are surprised like I was there was damage here because we didn’t have it at our homes,” said Pastor Andrew Chasteen, First Baptist New Albany.
Crews worked quickly clearing debris from major roads. Now, insurance adjusters will do their work and the National Weather Service will determine if it was straight-line winds or a tornado that caused the damage.
So far, there have been no reports of major damage to homes in Union County.
