ADEL, GA : Governor tours twister-wrecked Cook County on Thursday, 23rd April, 2020

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and other state officials toured damage sites in Cook County, where a suspected pair of tornadoes touched down Thursday.

The governor landed by helicopter Friday at Cook County Airport at about 12:30 p.m., and was taken in a motorcade to Cecil, where several homes had been damaged.

He spoke with homeowners Lamar and Tacey Williams in front of their home, where fallen limbs were being cleared way.

Tacey was not at home at the time the twister hit, but Lamar was playing with his daughters in the yard when the funnel cloud approached.

“The winds suddenly picked up, and I yelled ‘Girls! Shelter! Now!’” he said.

Lamar and the girls took refuge in a kitchen in the center of the house. None of them was injured, and their home did not appear to be seriously damaged.

Falling trees damaged other houses in Cecil and two hotels suffered major wind and sign damage.

In Adel, a warehouse and other structures downtown along Burwell Avenue suffered significant roof damage from high winds. Gary Garvette, an Adel steel construction worker, was helping remove metal sheeting torn from a downtown business.

Garvette was at home, about three blocks south of downtown, with his grandchildren when the tornado tore through.

“We all huddled together under a mattress,” he said.

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