‘I’m pretty positive we had a tornado.’ High winds damage trees, houses in Houston County

A tornado may have touched down along old Hawkinsville Road and the backside of Statham’s Landing when storms ripped through Middle Georgia on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m pretty positive we had a tornado touch down,” Houston County Fire Chief and EMA Director Chris Stoner said. “We’ve got pretty extensive tree damage and damage to a lot of residential structures on the fairways.

“We have cleared all the homes and verified no entrapments and no injuries so far.

Public safety officials are starting to work on damage assessment before nightfall.

“We need to ask everybody to avoid Old Hawkinsville Road pretty much for the length of it … between (Ga.) 247 and (Ga.) 96,” Stoner said. “We’ve got transmission power lines on the ground as well as extensive trees and emergency crews working in the area.”

Stoner was asked what the backside of Statham’s Landing looks like in the aftermath.

“The majority of all the pine trees are knocked off laying on top of houses, in the middle of the road,” Stoner said. “Several houses have their roofs either ripped off or severely damaged.”

Stoner again advised people to use caution and avoid the area if at all possible.

The severe weather has left thousands without power and tore down trees and power lines in North Macon, closing several roads.

Houston Health Pavilion damage not from storm

Houston Healthcare executive director, marketing & business development Kevin Rowley told the Telegraph that the Houston Health Pavilion at 233 N. Houston Road had a mechanical device overheat, sending smoke into the building at about 3:45 p.m.

The building was evacuated as a precaution and the all clear was given about 4:30 p.m.

The incident was unrelated to the severe weather that moved through Middle Georgia.

This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 6:30 PM.