Governor praises Americus' rebuilding effort from devastating tornado

AMERICUS, Ga. - Gov. Sonny Perdue praised the rebuilding effort in Americus on Friday, a year after a devastating tornado cut a swath through the town, killing two residents, destroying the south Georgia community's hospital and leaving more than 1,000 homes damaged or destroyed.<br /> <br /> ``I'm glad to see the strength and courage of this community,'' Perdue said during an afternoon ceremony at Georgia Southwestern University. ``Tomorrow a year ago this community was in shock. Tonight we are able to commemorate the recovery.''<br /> <br /> He presented community leaders with a proclamation marking Saturday as a ``day of renewal.''<br /> <br /> Last March 1, a series of tornadoes swept in from the west, causing widespread destruction in Georgia.<br /> <br /> The tornadoes killed nine people in Sumter, Taylor and Baker counties, and caused more than $210 million in damage, demolishing dozens of Georgia homes and businesses.<br /> <br /> The tornado cut a 1- to 3-mile swath through Americus, toppling centuries-old oaks and mangling some of the town's historic homes. Doctors' offices were also among the casualties.<br /> <br /> Without medical offices or a hospital, patients had to be sent to hospitals in the surrounding towns of Cordele, Montezuma and Albany. But within five days Sumter Regional Hospital had opened a makeshift emergency room in tents and now operates an urgent care center in modular buildings.<br /> <br /> A 76-bed hospital is expected to open by April 1, offering the full gamut of hospital services, from surgical to inpatient and officials expect to break ground in October on a permanent replacement hospital, said Nyla Franklin, director of Sumter Regional's Hospital Foundation.<br /> <br /> Recalling his own childhood memory of a tornado, Perdue said, ``We all have to endure tragedy.... We can't erase those memories, but we can remember the rising up and the rebuilding.<br /> <br /> ``I think literally before our eyes we're seeing the rebirth of Americus,'' he said.<br />

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