Tornadoes In Alabama (worst in 80 years)

[k98nights]

Storm deaths hit 318; Obama sees damage up close by Greg Bluestein and Melissa R. Nelson

Associated Press Writers Anniston Star Apr 29, 2011 | 545 views | 0 | 8 | | TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Survivors of the deadliest tornado outbreak since the Great Depression struggled to begin rebuilding their lives in the wind-wrecked landscape Friday, enduring blackouts and waiting in long lines for gas as their remaining possessions lay hidden in the rubble. President Barack Obama arrived in devastated Alabama to console victims whose emergency safety net has been so badly frayed, at least one town was begging for body bags.

As Obama stepped off a plane at the airport in hard-hit Tuscaloosa, rescuers and survivors combed the remains of neighborhoods pulverized by Wednesday's outbreak that killed at least 318 across seven states. In one of its first official assessments of the tornadoes' strength, the National Weather Service gave the worst possible rating to one that raked Mississippi and said it was the strongest to hit the state since 1966.

With the confirmation of more deaths by state officials, Wednesday's outbreak surpassed a deadly series of tornadoes in 1974 to become the deadliest day for twisters since 332 people died in March 1932. The storm eight decades ago was also in Alabama.

The president's arrival drew a muted response from Tuscaloosa resident Derek Harris, who was pushing a grocery buggy down a street where virtually every home was heavily damaged. The 47-year-old and his wife hoped to use the cart to salvage a few belongings from his home.

"Hopefully he'll give us some money to start over," Harris said of Obama. "Is FEMA here? The only place I'm hearing anything is at the Red Cross center."

Some were more upbeat about the president's visit, including 21-year-old Turner Woods, who watched Obama's motorcade pass on its way to tour damaged areas. "It's just really special having the president come here," she said. "It will bring more attention to this disaster and help get more help here."

After witnessing the damage in storm-wracked neighborhoods, Obama promised help and remarked that he's "never seen devastation like this." Entire neighborhoods were obliterated in the city of more than 83,000 that's home to the University of Alabama.

"When we're confronted by the awesome power of nature and reminded that all we have is each other," said the president after spending time talking to the state's governor and Tuscaloosa's mayor.

The storms destroyed the city's emergency management center, so the University of Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium was turned into a makeshift one. Though there wasn't significant damage to campus, finals were canceled and commencement was postponed.

The situation was dire about 90 miles to the north in the demolished town of Hackleburg, Ala., where officials were keeping the dead in a refrigerated truck amid a body bag shortage. At least 27 were killed there, and the search for missing people continues.

The only grocery store, the fire and police departments and the school are destroyed. There's no power, communications, water or other services. Fire Chief Steve Hood said flashlights for the town's 1,500 residents are needed because he doesn't want them to use candles that could start fires.

"We don't have water to put out any fires," he said.

About three hours to the west, parts of Rainsville were also flattened. At Rainsville Funeral Home, Lisa Chandler and her husband have been working 6 a.m. to midnight to arrange services and prepare bodies.

The work is tough because they know most of the victims. But the couple keeps at it — they have five visitations planned for Friday night.

"How am I handling it?" Lisa Chandler said. "I cry a little and I pray a lot."

Just outside of town, residents picked through their scattered belongings on a road, with people in cars stopping to offer bread, water and crackers. An AM radio station transmitted offers of help. One store was giving away air mattresses. An Italian restaurant was serving free hot meals. A glass shop was offering to replace shattered windows for free.

Firefighter Jamie Armstrong blinked back tears as he recalled finding a 5-year-old girl lifeless in a field near Rainsville, far from any house. Her brother was alive, but Armstrong wasn't sure if he was going to make it.

Despite the devastation, he said the storm had strengthened his belief in God.

"The truth is, God could take any one of us right now. But he spared me and you," he said.

In other areas, those who sheltered away from home trickled back to reclaim their belongings, ducking police roadblocks, fallen limbs and power lines. Survivors struggled with no electricity and little help from stretched-thin law enforcement.

As many as a million homes and businesses in Alabama were without power, and Alabama Gov. Bentley said 2,000 National Guard troops had been activated to help. The governors of Mississippi and Georgia also issued emergency declarations for parts of their states.

Alabama emergency management officials said Friday that the state had 228 confirmed deaths. There were 33 deaths in Mississippi, 34 in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, five in Virginia, two in Louisiana and one in Kentucky. Hundreds if not thousands of people were injured — 900 in Tuscaloosa alone.

Concord, a small town outside Birmingham, was devastated. Derrick Keef undertook a heartbreaking scavenger hunt for his most priceless possessions strewn across his heavily damaged neighborhood.

"I've been going from lot to lot finding stuff," he said as he rifled through debris in search of a family photo album. "It's like CSI."

In many places, drivers searched for the rare gas station that wasn't shuttered by power outages. In rural northeast Alabama's Crossville, 25 to 30 vehicles lined up at the Fuel-Z Friday morning. The station had been the only one open for many miles until a generator part failed Thursday night.

An employee said the repair might take until Saturday, but Natasha Brazil and her boyfriend weren't going anywhere in their Dodge Durango SUV. She lives about 10 miles away but said she only has enough gas for another mile or two.

"We've been sleeping here all night. Well, I wouldn't call it sleeping, crammed in the back of an SUV," she said.

Some Alabama newspapers were pooling resources. The Cullman Times and The News-Courier in nearby Athens printed their Thursday and Friday editions at the TimesDaily in Florence, which was also serving as the temporary newsroom for another paper — The Decatur Daily. Cullman Times publisher Bill Morgan said a generator was being trucked to restore power to his newspaper's presses.

Officials said at least 13 died in Smithville, Miss., where devastating winds ripped open the police station, post office, city hall and an industrial park with several furniture factories. Pieces of tin were twined high around the legs of a blue water tower, and the Piggly Wiggly grocery store was gutted.

At Smithville Cemetery, even the dead were not spared: Tombstones dating to the 1800s, including some of Civil War soldiers, lay broken on the ground. Brothers Kenny and Paul Long dragged their youngest brother's headstone back to its proper place.

The National Weather Service said the tornado that hit Smithville was a devastating EF-5 storm, with top winds of 205 mph. Meteorologist Jim LaDue said he expects "many more" of Wednesday's tornadoes to receive the worst rating in the tornado measurement system.

Tornadoes struck with unexpected speed in several states, and the difference between life and death was hard to fathom. Four people died in Bledsoe County, Tenn., but Mayor Bobby Collier also had good news to report after a twister swept through.

"There was a modular home that was actually picked up and thrown across the road," Collier said. "The family was in it. It was totally destroyed."

And the family?

"They were OK."

Read more: Anniston Star - Storm deaths hit 318 Obama sees damage up close

And in my county (Calhoun County, AL) we were also hit hard with 9 dead.

Storm cleanup continues, but county's death toll may stop at 9 by Star staff Anniston Star Apr 29, 2011 | 4352 views | 0 | 13 | | slideshow Updated 5:23 p.m.

• Donation centers added

• JSU offers use of computers, showers to displaced residents

• County issues debris removal guidelines

As residents, emergency crews and volunteers deal with the wake of Wednesday's storms, Calhoun County may at least have no more deaths to deal with.

Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown said this morning that emergency crews discovered no new remains overnight Thursday into Friday, and that officials don’t expect to find any more.

Much cleanup remains, however, and the work can be dangerous. One man's leg was cut by a chainsaw today in the Webster’s Chapel area where a Star staffer was reporting; the man’s wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, but he did require medical help.

Victims identified

Brown this afternoon shared the identities of the last two victims of the storm to be named. They include 13-year-old Angel Stillwell, who was killed sheltering with her parents in their Piedmont home (her parents still are hospitalized), and 72-year-old Arvella Jones, found with the body of her friend James Romaine near Cochran Springs Road in Ohatchee.

Seven other victims killed in the storm were identified Friday.

Disaster declaration

The Calhoun County emergency Management Agency announced this morning that a federal disaster declaration had been issued for the county. The declaration makes county residents affected by the storm eligible for help from the federal government.

EMA spokeswoman Marissa Brimer said it had not yet been determined exactly what kind of help the federal government would offer, but that residents and business owners should begin the application process so they can be helped as quickly as possible.

There are a number of ways to register for federal aid:

• Online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov

• By Web-enabled mobile device at http://m.fema.gov

• By calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) (Hearing- and speech-impaired residents may call 1-800-462-7585 for TTY service). The toll-free telephone numbers are available from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Applicants registering for aid should be prepared to provide basic information about themselves including their name, permanent address, phone number, insurance coverage and any other information to help substantiate losses, the EMA said.

Jacksonville State on Friday afternoon announced it would open its computer labs next week to residents needing to fill out disaster applications online.

The labs will be available 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. JSU staff and student volunteers will be on hand to assist those who need help using a computer, the university said.

Food, showers

The EMA also announced that the American Red Cross had opened feeding centers for affected residents and relief workers. Meals will be served at the following locations:

• Oak Grove Baptist Church, Reads Mill Road in Wellington

• Knightens Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department in the Roy Webb Road area

• Webster’s Chapel Volunteer Fire Department in the Wellington area

• First Baptist Church of Williams in the Pleasant Valley area

• Mt. Olive Volunteer Fire Department, on Boiling Springs Road in the Ohatchee Area

• Word of Life near the intersection of Alabama 77 and Alabama 144

• Ellis Community Fire Department on Alabama 9

Jacksonville State University, meanwhile, announced that the showers at Pete Mathews Coliseum would be opened to displaced residents in need of somewhere to bathe. Towels and toiletries will be available for anyone who needs them, the university said, but residents with access to their own supplies were asked to bring them. The showers will be available 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, but university police can provide access after hours for residents who call 256-782-5050.

Debris removal

Meanwhile, county officials are making plans for removal of storm debris. The EMA announced this morning that county crews should begin picking up debris from affected areas as early as next week.

In a press release, Brimer offered the following guidelines for residents cleaning up their property.

• Vegetative debris, including limbs and trees, should be placed in separate piles from construction debris.

• The separated piles should be placed on rights-of-way, and not near poles or trees.

• Neighbors are encouraged to combine debris piles.

Recovery volunteers, donations

The EMA also announced that volunteers were being welcomed again at a reception area set up at the Ohatchee Police Department, 7801 Alabama Highway 77.

Volunteers were urged to check in at the reception area, and not to report directly to damaged areas.

People with any potentially useful skills or equipment are asked to help.

Officials also announced today new centers for donations. People wishing to donate food, clothing or other material for use by storm victims are asked to take those donations to:

•The old Ohatchee town hall, downtown on Main Street.

•Quintard Mall in Oxford, at the guest services desk between JC Penny and Sears.

•The Salvation Army at 420 Noble St. in Anniston

Items needed include bottled water, gallon water, individually wrapped snacks, non-perishable food products, blankets, emergency candles, candles, matches, lighters, batteries, personal hygiene products and feminine hygiene products, flashlights and disposable grills.

Utility restoration

Alabama Power Co. announced this afternoon that roughly 15,597 customers still were without electricity in the Anniston, Oxford, and Gadsden areas. At 4 p.m., a total of 202,253 customers statewide were without service, the company said. Service had been restored to more than 210,000 customers since the storms on Wednesday. The company plans to have service restored to 95 percent of customers by Wednesday, a week after the storms.

The company said as many as 6,500 people were working to restore electricity, including crews from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Star staffers spotted a convoy of Georgia Power trucks this morning headed east on Interstate 20 in Cleburne County, and a force of power company trucks from the Tampa, Fla., area marshaled near Speedway Boulevard in Talladega County.

The company urged residents without power to turn off appliances to avoid hazards when electricity is restored, and to always avoid downed power lines.

Read more: Anniston Star - Storm cleanup continues but county s death toll may stop at 9

To see aerial views of the damage in Calhoun County, AL click the link below

http://www.consolpub...20110429aerial/

To see photos of the damage in Calhoun County, AL click the link below

http://www.consolpub.com/slideshows/as/20110428storm/

[American Beauty]

k98nights,

Thank you for the post, I have had people asking me where and what to send to those affected by this devastating disaster.

AB

[k98nights]

k98nights,

Thank you for the post, I have had people asking me where and what to send to those affected by this devastating disaster.

AB

You're welcome!

[anonmouse013]

as I read this, my eyes cannot help but to tear up... my family was so fortunate - my baby sister is a senior at U.A. and resides just off 15th st. next to the path of devastation.

She is obviously shaken but fine otherwise. She lost friends... I cannot find the words

We lost so many here in Central AL that I dont have the courage yet to read the names of the victims.

God bless the survivors and all of our neighbors pitching in to help in any way

[thunderrb]

WOW what a great post, great work..Thank You....I hate to admit, my Birthday is April 27...When I celebrate my Birthday in the future, I will always take time to remember the 312 people that died on that day and the thousands of prople who's life will never be the same. May God bless everyone affected by this horrible disaster...

[DaveH]

Woody,

You and your family ok? been some tough stuff comin through there bud.

Bad situtuation. I pray for the best for you and your family. You are the best Woody!!

[dog53]

Damm shame. Alot of people outa work right now drawing unemployment. Would be a good time to pack up your tools head down south and help these people rebuild. you all have my prayers.

[rsskelton]

Thanks for the post Woody. Our State has taken a blow like never before. Unfortunately I have seen it up close and personal for the past two days. Helped in Walker County with search and rescue yesterday. Went back up today to help with clean up. The little town of Cordova that I have been in is completely obliverated. Totally gone. Never seen anything like it in my life. What is so amazing though is how everyone is pulling together. Came back to B'ham around 4:00 this afternoon and went to a Acadamy Sports parking lot where a local radio station has been collecting non perishable items for the affected areas to help them load trucks. So many people dropping stuff off that we already have 4 eighteen wheelers loaded to the gills. It is amazing how people pull together in the face of tradgedy. One elderly couple came by and dropped off three bottles of water. They said it was all they had, but they wanted to help. I thought my heart would break. It reminded me of the Biblical story of the widows two mites. To all our friends here at DV, thank you for your prayers and support. I don't remember if this was in Woodys post, but the Mayor of Tuscaloosa announced this afternoon that 400 people are still missing in Tuscaloosa alone, so friends, please continue to remember us in your prayers. We really appreciate it..

RSS

[KCT]

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have lost loved ones. I live in Tuscaloosa and thankfully our home was not hit this time. A smaller tornado hit our neighborhood two weeks ago, but that was nothing compared to what others here are facing now. Our town has lost 45 lives but the number is likely to go much higher when they switch from rescue to recovery. As stated above 400 are still missing. The president did tour the devastation in Tuscaloosa today as many may have seen on tv. Hopefully the results will go far and wide to help our sister cities and states begin to rebuild. Tomorrow many of us teachers will help get one of our empty buildings cleaned up to house one of our schools that was destroyed. We lost three schools in all. Today i was told that every school in the city system had some sort of damage. I believe there are at least 15 schools in the city. I teach for the county system and we havent been able to account for all of our students yet. Hopefully they will be found safely staying with friends family or one of the shelters set up for those who are now homeless. The University of Alabama has cancelled everything for the rest of the semester including commencement. Our town lost much of the infrastructure where power is concerned and power companies from all over the south are here to put up temporary power lines. Even with all the much appreciated help it may be 6 weeks for some to regain power. The red cross has been a great help, and the United Way is accepting donations of any kind. Hundreds if not thousands of homes were destroyed. The survivors of the destruction are in need of anything you can send. Thank you for starting this thread and shedding light to the need for prayers not only for our fellow DV members, but also to so many in our state and neighbor states who are suffering.

[venetia]

I'm so sorry to hear all this terrible news......I have been watching the news here in the UK........please know my thoughts are with all of you who have suffered and are battling through it.

[bald1]

Thanks K98. I have seen more destruction this week than I ever thought was possible. My heart aches for the ones suffering at this time. I have been through Bham and Cordova and it is terrible. There are still areas that cannot be accessed. I am afraid that the casualties are going to keep going up.

Romans 8:26

[k98nights]

Woody,

You and your family ok? been some tough stuff comin through there bud.

Bad situtuation. I pray for the best for you and your family. You are the best Woody!!

Yeah Dave we're ok... many people we know are not though, and it weighs heavy on victims and those that love them as well as the rest of their neighbors.

[breault]

So incredibly sad, my prayers are with you, and I'll pass along the information regarding donates, help, etc. Thank you for posting this. And Dog, great idea you had!