MACON, Ga. — In a day of damaging winds, rain and possible tornados, north Macon seemed to see some of the worst damage.
Even though it was potentially dangerous, some people had no choice but to go about their days.
"It's hard to believe," said Vernon Tanner, trudging through the debris.
It was a common sight across Central Georgia Tuesday.
"Since the tornado of 2008, I haven't seen anything quite as bad," Tanner said
Downed trees, downed powerlines and blocked roads were everywhere.
Tanner was on a mission, walking three quarters of a mile through the brush and branches from where he parked at Piedmont Macon North to Willow Creek Condominiums.
"I'm walking to Willow Creek Condominiums so I can look after my dad and get him some supper. They have no power over there," Tanner said. "A lot of downed powerlines and downed trees. I had to snake my way through it, sure did."
He only stopped for a minute, then moved on to care for his dad. Plenty of other people were out and about, surveying the damage.
"My daughter and I had heard the sirens going off," said Bryan Evans, standing on his front lawn.
Evans and his daughter were sheltering in their basement when a large tree crashed into their north Macon home.
"We heard debris beginning to hit, and then all of a sudden, the house was shaking, and then it was over," he recalled.
They thought everything was fine, but Mother Nature isn't always predictable.
"We walked upstairs, and lo and behold, we've got a big old tree in our yard and it's not Christmas," he Evans joked.
In the face of a terrible situation, Evans laughed it off. He feels lucky that things aren't worse. For Evans and many others across Central Georgia, there's only one thing to do: pick up the pieces and move on.
"It's terrible, but what can you do? It's happened, we're just going to go on. We've been lucky it hasn't happened before I guess," he said.