Businesses Rebuild After EF1 Tornado Hits Ada

In Pontotoc County, recovery is underway after an EF1 tornado swept through Ada, damaging homes and businesses. Among those hit was a local car dealership that is now juggling business and repairs.

It’s a daily routine of measuring, taping, and rebuilding.

“What it did was it bowed out the walls, ripped off the AC unit—that caused a gap in the roof, flooded the entire showroom, and ruined the gutters,” said Matt Brookbank, who is helping lead repair efforts at the local Nissan dealership.

The team is using this to make the building more storm-resilient.

“A lot of it wasn’t built to be tornado resistant, so we are going to restructure and reframe it so it’s resistant for future storms,” Brookbank added.

Despite the chaos, the dealership remains open.

“We try not to make it an eyesore for the clientele while they are still working, because they are still selling cars in the showroom.”

Contractors with Trademark say they’ve been swamped, responding to damage across the state as weekend storms continue to roll through.

“We try to do mitigation as fast as possible—whether that be rain coming in from the roof to hail, tornado, or stopping water from coming in and flooding.”

April was officially the wettest in Oklahoma, and rain has only worsened storm damage.

“All of this is tore up—drywall tore up, carpet—because all of this was rotted because of the water coming in.”

Brookbank says their crews are ready to go when the next storm hits, but he’s urging Oklahomans to vet who they hire.

“Google the company—is their office an actual office or a home address? Are they on the BBB? How many ratings do they have? And what I show people—can contractors show you photos: before, during, after past storms?”

A donut shop and the Quality Inn were also damaged across the street from the dealership. The city has since condemned that building.

The North Hills Shopping Center was also damaged. Maurice’s, the clothing store, remains closed due to heavy damage.