Cameron remembers EF-2 tornado one year later

img_20160729_170557113

The words “Cameron strong” still remain on church walls and t-shirts nearly a year after an EF-2 tornado moved through the tiny Warren County town. The tornado caused significant damage to the more than 50 buildings in town and it destroyed a handful of homes.

A number of Cameron residents gathered last night at the Cameron Christian church, for a community blessings dinner in remembrance of the natural disaster.

In the church hallway, three thick binders with hundreds of pictures, Facebook messages and press clippings reminded residents of that fateful July 16th night, but also of the progress the town has made in a year.

Resident Pat Fox is responsible for compiling that information.

“I have become the photographer to keep the town updated on progress,” Fox says. “Someone started the ‘Just for Cameron long term relief effort,’ so I would walk around town and take pictures and post them on that site.”

As Cameron looks to the future, Fox says she sees the snapshot of a “spirit among the people,” but recovery is still on going even a year down the road. 

“We’re still adjusting to the fact that the town looks different,” Fox says. “We lost so much all at once.” 

Fox estimates that while four to five homes that were completely destroyed were not rebuilt, three new homes have been built or brought in. The Cameron Grain Corporation has built new grain bins as well, replacing fallen bins that were synonymous in media images for littering the town with debris.

ReCENT POSTS

Loading...