Gordon County emergency officials said Thurs­day that approximately 500 buildings were damaged by Wednesday’s tornado, an estimated 400 of those were single-family homes.

The tornado touched down in the area of the Farmville and Sonoraville communities, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

It reportedly passed within 50 yards of Sonoraville High School on Wednesday. Gordon County schools were closed Thursday and will be closed again today.

Sonoraville High School has become the unofficial donation hub in the community.

The Gordon County Chamber of Commerce donated food from its annual banquet to those who lost their homes.

Sonoraville High sophomore Lorna Lyles recalls being seated in the hallway with classmates when she heard a teacher yell, “Get down,” as the tornado passed nearby.

Lyles explained they covered their heads for roughly five minutes, but nothing happened, and they returned to class.

The realization of how close the tornado actually came to the schools became apparent when she saw the devastation.

“We didn’t know how close it came to us until we drove through and saw,” said Lyles. “I have grown up in the Farmville and Sonoraville communities, so it was sad to see some places I remember growing up completely gone.”

The shock did not stop Lyles from feeling like she needed to do something to help. The same feelings were evident in the approximately 20-25 volunteers who became involved with Lyles through online social media. “My friend and I tweeted that we wanted to help and within two hours so many people got involved,” said Lyles.

As of 9 p.m. Thursday, approximately 750 North Georgia EMC customers in Gordon were still without power. Officials said most will be restored by this evening, but isolated outages could continue through Saturday.