WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Darien tornado: One year later
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By Melanie Ruberti - bio | email
DARIEN, GA (WTOC) - Pieces were all that were left that Mother's Day morning. Mangled Metal, ripped off roofs and broken boats littered the grounds at the McIntosh Industrial Park, and beyond. "Over at Sapelo Island, 11 miles away, is where we found the roof of this building," said Rick Caldwell."So it was hit pretty hard."
Rick's shop, the Outboard Rejuvenation Boat Repair, bore the brunt of the EF- 4 tornado.
Some of the scars are still visible on the concrete floor, where boats and motors were dragged by the 166 mile per hour plus winds. Rick kept the slab as a reminder, but rebuilt a new facility.
"We're almost through with all the construction," said Rick. "We've got a few odds and ends. Our hoist is got to get back up and I've got some electrical things to run to my other building. Other than that, we're pretty well finished up with it."
Right across the street from Rick, the new county EMS Center is almost complete as well. It should be finished by early fall.
But for others in McIntosh County, the recovery process has been slow." It was horrible," Bubba Poppell remembered. "There were boats and trucks and cars in the marsh. Trailers on top of boats."
The only thing left standing at the Blue In Hall Marina was the public bathrooms. Co - Owner, Bubba Poppell, is now starting from scratch. "We took another building and turned it into a store," he said. "We just started building our bait house back. We're trying to get our gas back up and running again. Trying to jump through hoops with permits and all that."
His business is not even a fraction of where it was a year ago, but he's not giving up. And neither is Rick, who will be holding his grand "re-opening" of the store this Monday.
"It makes you count your blessings when all is said and done," he said. "You've got to move on now and make the best out of it that we can."
The estimated damage from the Mother's Day tornado is $10 million around McIntosh County. The EF- 4 tornado is only the second such powerful storm ever to hit south Georgia. The last EF- 4 was in Bulloch County in 1936.
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