On November 30, 2010, a strong thunderstorm produced an EF-2 tornado that touched down in the Kirkstone residential neighborhood off of Gravel Springs Road in Buford leaving a quarter mile path of destruction through the unincorporated area just north of the Mall of Georgia. One home was completely destroyed and 56 homes in total were damaged. Luckily no one was injured by the 130 mph winds and flying debris. I got the call that there was a possible tornado on the ground on my way to another assignment for the Gwinnett Daily Post. I hurried to the general area of the call because there were varying reports of what had happened but when I pulled up to Kirkstone it looked like a bomb had gone off. Emergency personnel were everywhere trying to direct traffic, ensure that residents were okay and survey the damage to property. Families were outside trying to make sense of what had happened to their quiet neighborhood. The images below are from that evening.
Police and fire personnel scour the Kirkstone neighborhood assessing the damage from a tornado that touched down in Buford on Tuesday May 30, 2010.
A Jackson EMC employee grabs a chainsaw from his truck to help clear some of the debris around power lines after a tornado cut through the Kirkstone subdivision in Buford on Tuesday May 30, 2010.
Ekram Powtik walks past the remains of her sister's house in the Kirkstone subdivision in Buford after a tornado touched down on Tuesday May 30, 2010. Almost all of the homes within the neighborhood suffered damages with one being completely destroyed. According to officials no one suffered injuries.
Andrea McKnight holds onto her two daughters Madison, left, and Taylor, right, as they survey the damage to their home in the Kirkstone subdivision in Buford after a tornado touched down carving a path of destruction on Tuesday May 30, 2010.
A mailbox sits uprooted in front of one of the homes in the Kirkstone neighborhood in Buford.
One resident of the Kirkstone neighborhood seeks shelter from the rain under an umbrella assessing the damage to her home after a tornado touched down in Buford on Tuesday May 30, 2010.
One resident crosses over the fire line after locking the front door to his home on Tuesday May 30, 2010.
Carrying bags of belongings, Andrea McKnight leads her five children away from their home of eight years in the Kirkstone subdivision after a tornado touched down causing significant damage on Tuesday May 30, 2010.