MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The city of Covington, Tennessee is cleaning up Sunday morning after powerful winds tore through town overnight, leaving trees down and battering the downtown area.
Many tents that were set up on the town square for the Covington Heritage Festival were left badly damaged. Sunday was scheduled to be the last of four days for the 27th annual event.
The Covington Police Department released photos showing the damage. Tents are turned upside-down or crushed, and items are strewn along the street. The roofs of some businesses were damaged and glass was left shattered.
“It was pretty rough,” said Covington resident Maurice Darby. “The wind, the rain, there was no direction, but you can tell that something was In the atmosphere.”
Police said the damage was due to straight-line winds. A line of severe storms moved across the Mid-South late Saturday evening.
Some trees also had been blown down, blocking streets and, while no power lines were down, some areas of downtown were left without power. Crews worked overnight to clear the damage.
“We had a lot of citizens step up,” said Covington Mayor Justin Hanson. “That’s one of the things that’s great about Tipton County — when there is a need, when there is an emergency, all of our people stick together and stand up and help, and that’s certainly what happened last night.”
During the storm, a tree in Steven Avery’s yard fell and almost hit home, instead crushing his vehicle.
“I thank God that I’m here to be able to speak my side of the story,” Avery said. “If it didn’t fall this way, it could have fell on my house. We could have been sleep or anything, it could have done a lot of damage.”
The Heritage festival ended up being canceled Sunday, with the exception of a gospel concert, due all the damages caused overnight.
Despite the images of devastation captured shared across social media, the mayor says there were no reports of any major injuries.
The majority of the damage in the square was cleaned up by residents and first responders, which the mayor says embodies what the town is all about.
“When there is an emergency, all of our people stick together and stand up and help, and that’s certainly what happened last night,” Hanson said.
That sense of community carried over to the evening, as dozens came together in prayer following a night of severe weather.
“We have some broken homes, some shattered glass, or whatever, but at the end of the day we’re still here, and that’s enough to give God some praise,” Darby said.
Covington is in Tipton County, about an hour’s drive north of Memphis.