Century Marks Three Months Since EF-3 Tornado

May 16, 2016

There were beautiful blue skies Sunday morning in Century, exactly three months since a monster EF-3 tornado ripped through the town, injuring three people and damaging or destroying 109 structures.

On Church Street, in the midst of what some locals now call the “tornado zone” stands two white churches that tell the tale of the tornado.  The Century United Methodist Church, built 114 years ago, still leans precariously after the tornado lifted  it off it’s foundation and shifted the entire building about two feet away.

On this beautiful May Sunday morning, the old wooden Century United Methodist Church building stood silent once again as members met across across the street in a house owned by the church.

Meanwhile — “Heaven came down and glory filled my soul” — the sounds of hymns could be heard in the street from the 100+plus year old First Baptist Church next door. Battered and weathered by the tornado, it still stands.

Parts of the tornado zone in Century are like the Methodist church building….quiet and empty. Scores of families were without insurance, and they continue to wait for the wheels of government to turn and make housing funding available. They’ve applied; they have placed themselves on waiting lists for help. But the process is slow.

But like the Methodist church members meeting across the street, and those in the Baptist church, the people of Century continue to stand together in faith that there town will be made whole again. In time.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

One Response to “Century Marks Three Months Since EF-3 Tornado”

  1. Neighbors on May 16th, 2016 7:41 am

    Our little community came together to weather the after affects of the tornado that almost devastated all of its’ residents. We are slowly rising out of the slump we been in and we going to come back stronger than before. Thank you Jesus for seeing us through it all!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News