One year since EF-1 tornado heavily damaged Cobb County warehouse

Friday marks one year since an EF-1 tornado destroyed a section of Austell, destroying nearly 20 homes and damaging 50 of them.

The tornado ripped the side off of a warehouse.

Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell was there for all of it, and one year later she revisited the site to see what it looks like now.

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The building is standing strong now.

A year ago bricks from the building covered the area around it and you could see right through the warehouse.

Construction only wrapped up a little more than a month ago, mostly due to delays in matching the brick and getting permits.

Plus workers had to raise the foundation in part of the building.

During construction, a crew built a temporary wall made of plywood and covered it with a tarp.

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The owner managed to keep the business open that entire time.

Even after the wall collapsed, employees were safely working on the other side of the building.

Meanwhile, crews at the warehouse are preparing for Friday’s approaching storms with extra staff on standby.

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