Four families were displaced last night after what is believed to have been a tornado touched down in Andalusia, doing serious damage to an RV park.

Covington County EMA director Susan Harris said there is no official word yet on the cause.

“But in talking with many who were out there at that time, I think it will be a tornado,” she said. “The National Weather Service will make the call, and we hope to get that tomorrow.

“My thought is, though, that it doesn’t matter. It’s damage to homes,” she said. “We’re working right now with those in the campground to get them a place to stay tonight.”

Harris said county officials helped secure motel rooms for those who were displaced, and she believes they’ll be reimbursed for the costs.

“I am so proud of our county, and our response, which is taking care of our people,” she said.

Covington County was under a tornado watch at the time the damage occurred.

Brian Jones was in his RV in the park located behind the Cash and Carry, listening to music. Although he heard the wind pick up, he was not prepared when the wind picked him and the RV up, twice.

“I went airborne two times,” he said.

He was fortunate that his home wasn’t damaged, and said he immediately went out to check on others. The two trailers that were most heavily damaged were unoccupied at the time of the storm, he said.

A few lots down, Danielle Petrie was counting her blessings.

Petrie said she was trying to get her eight-month-old down for a nap when the wind picked up.

“My daughter was in the back sleeping,” she said.

When the wind started to make her and her mother-in-law nervous, the mother-in-law went and got the little girl.

“It was just in time,” Petrie said. “The whole camper started shaking and I thought it was about to tip over.”

Instead, a neighboring trailer was blown into the Petries’ home.

The irony, she said, is that she and her family survived Hurricane Matthew in the fall, and had only just moved to Andalusia. Her husband came here to work with his cousin, Shannon Bryant.

The storm interrupted electrical service to more than 600 homes, according to Jeff Puckett, who manages the electrical department of the city’s utilities. Most had power again within an hour, he said, and all of the homes that could safely take power had it restored by 7:30 p.m.

“There were three or four homes that need an electrician before we can hook them back up,” he said.