Strong winds that whipped through the area as part of a storm front on Wednesday morning destroyed a walkway awning to a modular classroom at Hampton Elementary School.
No one was injured in the accident but school officials said the modular classroom sustained some damage when the awning was ripped off by the wind. No damage was reported at any of the other schools in the Carter County system.
Around 9:20 a.m. on Wednesday, winds pulled the awning loose from the porch of the modular classroom, which damaged the siding and guttering of the unit. Winds also blew some shingles off the roofs of the modular units at Hampton Elementary.
“It’s destroyed,” Carter County School CTE Director Mickey Taylor said. There is probably some roof damage, too. IT ripped the guttering off the back side of the unit as well.” Taylor added the school’s maintenance department would be evaluating the damage and would make sure the building was safe before students would be allowed to return to class in the modular unit.
Students were inside the modular classroom when wind gusts began. School officials said they had just decided to bring the students from the modulars into the main school building because of the high wind advisory when the awning was pulled down.
Taylor said whenever a weather warning is issued for high winds or severe thunderstorms or lightning students in modular classrooms are brought into the main school building for their safety.
“This is what we face with these modulars,” Taylor said. “We move them in and there they are, basically sitting in the gym doing nothing.” This takes time away from the student’s learning and can also cause disruptions for other classes.
After the awning was damaged at Hampton Elementary, Director of Carter County School Dr. Kevin Ward notified all the schools in the system to bring the students from the modular units into the main school buildings.
“Because of the winds and weather warnings, all of the students have been brought into the main buildings at all locations,” Ward said.
All in all, Ward estimated a total of 1,500 students across the system are in classrooms housed in modular units.
Ward also notified all the schools to allow parents to pick the students up early if they wanted to due to the forecast severe weather.