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The West Point Motel suffered extensive damage from Sunday’s tornado, leaving it closed for the time being.

The roofs on both buildings were destroyed but fortunately, none of the guests nor the owner and his family were hurt when the tornado passed overhead.

Owner Danny Patel said he wants to reopen but the future of the business is a bit up in the air at this point, in more ways than one.

“We want to bring it back up. It all depends on the extent of the damage, what our insurance company says and what the city tells us. There’s a lot of damage,” Patel said.

Patel said that the manager’s apartment where he lives with his family was also heavily damaged by the storm. The family was home when the tornado hit.

“We all moved into the bathroom,” Patel said. “It literally was like the stories you hear. It sounded like a train coming through.”

Patel said they heard branches falling, wood cracking and glass shattering as they sheltered in the bathroom.
“It was something you cannot forget. Like a picture with a clear distinction in your memories,” Patel said, recalling as the tornado passed overhead.

Patel said they had about six guests staying overnight when the tornado hit. All have already left the hotel.

“Everybody made it out really well. They have already vacated the hotel,” Patel said.

“We want to rebuild. That’s for sure. We want to rebuild. There’s a long process ahead of us. This whole community within a five-mile radius, we have a lot of memories and stuff over here. So, we’re probably not going to leave from an area, but at the same time it’s a long process,” Patel said. “It all depends on how it works out with our insurance companies and all that stuff.”