to be an over-estimation. It was the first U.S. tornado to cause fatalities at a school since the Grand Isle, Louisiana tornado in 1993, and the deadliest tornado-related school disaster since one in Belvidere, Illinois in 1967. One other death was reported in Enterprise at a nearby private residence when a woman's living room window was shattered by the tornado. At the school, the fatalities resulted from the collapse of a concrete block wall. One hallway completely collapsed, trapping many students in the rubble of the hallway known as 3rd Hall. The tornado at the school was so strong that it tossed and mangled cars in the parking lot, flattened parts of the stadium and tore trees out of the ground. School buses were there for an early dismissal due to the storms at just after 1:00 pm, but the tornado hit before the school could be dismissed. Nearby Hillcrest Elementary School also sustained severe damage from the tornado. After the tornado hit, students from both schools who were not injured were relocated by emergency personnel to Hillcrest Baptist Church, adjacent to the schools and which was not damaged, in order to meet up with shocked parents. Emergency personnel also rushed to the school to send the most seriously injured to local hospitals and provide treatment on the scene to others. The tornado initially formed in a neighborhood just south of the downtown area; after demolishing a section of the downtown area, it moved on to the schools. The tornado then continued northeast crossing the Holly Hill and Dixie Drive areas. A quarter-mile-wide (400 m) swath was devastated, with enormous damage reported to many houses and businesses, some of which were flattened. Several other schools and the local YMCA were among the damaged buildings. According to the Red Cross, 239 homes were destroyed, 374 sustained major damage, 529 sustained minor damage, and 251 homes were affected. The tornado itself was estimated to have been wide and have had a path length of . It dissipated shortly after leaving Enterprise. It was given an initial rating of EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. However, after a detailed survey, the tornado was upgraded to a low-end EF4 with winds around . This upgrade was based on the finding of flattened houses near the school. A total of $307 million in damages were inflicted on the city of Enterprise. Americus, Georgia On the