A state of emergency has been issued in Greensboro after a tornado ripped through the area Sunday.
The National Weather Service confirmed that an F-2 tornado with 135 mph winds touched down in Greensboro, just 25 minutes west from Elon. The storm caused significant damages to homes and nearby schools and left one person dead after being hit by a tree while driving.
According to the Spring 2018 Registrar’s Report, 17 percent of the total student enrollment from North Carolina come from Guilford County.
SGA Executive President and junior Kenneth Brown Jr. is one of the 265 Elon students who come from Greensboro. No one in his family was injured and his home was not damaged.
“When I first saw the news, I immediately called my family,” Brown said. “It passed over them but they were huddled in a closet.”
Brown’s family used to live in the northeast part of Guilford county, one of the areas affected by the tornado. While his family was not physically affected by the damage, he says the storm images are shocking.
“Looking at the pictures, I was like ‘oh my goodness,’” Brown said. You see [the storm damage] in other places, but to see it in your hometown- I was stunned.”
Guilford county schools were closed Monday and will remain closed Tuesday, according to the Guilford County Schools district website. Power is still out in some areas and some roads are blocked as police assess the damage.