‘Like being in a vacuum’: Paulding County residents describe witnessing EF1 tornado

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Weekend storms caused unbelievable damage to homes in Paulding County. The National Weather Service confirmed at least one tornado touched down there overnight.

Zach Burgess grabbed his young daughters out of a second story bedroom inside their home on Chase Way in Dallas when the winds picked up late Saturday night. Just minutes later, trees came crashing through the ceiling.

“A lot of loud booms, almost kind of like explosions, and then it was like being in a vacuum,” Burgess said. “It was chaos. There was insulation everywhere. There was dry wall everywhere. Studs were falling.”

Despite all the damage, the family’s backyard chickens all survived the storm. And miraculously no one inside the home was injured.

Across town, another tree fell on a home on Mt. Tabor Church Road, narrowly missing a married couple and their 2-month-old baby.

“It sounded like a train was coming through the yard and then it was just wham,” Scotty Valiani said. “We were in our pajamas barefoot, but we were like okay let’s get out of here.”

Paulding County Sheriff Ashley Henson says at least 14 homes are seriously damaged by trees and many roadways, including Highway 61, were still closed Sunday night as crews clear debris and powerlines.

Despite the devastation, neighbors came out to help those in need.

“Our community has really stepped up. We probably had 30 or 40 people out here today,” Burgess said.