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Devastating Tornado Damage in Tuscaloosa

Harrison called her parents Wednesday to tell them about the bad weather heading to the state. She said she was going to hide in a closet.

Her apartment was directly hit and the students inside were tossed from the home.

Her uncle, a police officer from New Orleans, said the family searched for her throughout Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Harrison was found more than 100 yards from the apartment. Her boyfriend and a friend were found still inside the apartment and both survived.
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Texas college student killed in Tuscaloosa tornado | khou.com | KHOU.com Home Page
not sure they are accurate about Tinker being safe in the apt.

But it's so sad.
 
Alasippi said:
Let me say this. As a survivor of Katrina(8 feet of water in my house) I can relate to the total astonishment that everyone in Tuscaloosa and surrounding counties must be feeling.

A hurricane is horrific, but at least you have days to prepare and you can be far away when it hits if you choose.

A tornado is the scariest thing in nature to me. They hit so quickly,do so much damage so fast, and they take lives in an instant.

I feel so sincerely sad right at this moment. For the families who lost loved ones, and those that lost their lives.

Buildings can be replaced. People can't be.

God bless the entire city of Tuscaloosa and all the family's effected by this horrible tragedy.

My prayers are with you.

sip
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I was just thinking the exact same thing. Weather forecasting technology has given us a little more time in preparing for events like those that unfolded yesterday, but it's minutes of extra time, rather than days or hours like it is with big, slow moving hurricanes. The old adage that you run from the water but hide from the wind is true partly because water is so much more powerful, but also because you don't have time to flee a tornado.

I too know exactly what those poor folks are going through. I've lived through it and even rushed to help others recover from it many times over the years.
 
Alasippi said:
A hurricane is horrific, but at least you have days to prepare and you can be far away when it hits if you choose.

A tornado is the scariest thing in nature to me. They hit so quickly,do so much damage so fast, and they take lives in an instant.
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You are correct. People in NOLA refused to leave with atleast a week leadtime, Tuscaloosa probably had 30 minutes tops with the warning, then less than that as I watched them show the twister live on 33/40. Then like what happened in OKC in 98 or 99, I even seen basements ripped up from the foundation and killed families. Like me and my bestfriend said, when these F4/F5'***** there is no hiding period. Its either your time or not. The Ohatchee storm and Eclectic storms kinda split us, so we were lucky here. I'm on the top floor of a 2 story apartment and didnt want to have to hide.

PS-Still looking about damage on 49th Avenue East in case anyone knows... Still no word from my cousin. Also my cousin in Cleveland TN. (near Chattanooga) said her neighbor found mail from Tuscaloosa in their yard, thats even further than the Attalla finds. Amazing. Her Father also found mail in THEIR yard from Ft. Payne.
 
GulfCoastTider said:
I was just thinking the exact same thing. Weather forecasting technology has given us a little more time in preparing for events like those that unfolded yesterday, but it's minutes of extra time, rather than days or hours like it is with big, slow moving hurricanes. The old adage that you run from the water but hide from the wind is true partly because water is so much more powerful, but also because you don't have time to flee a tornado.

I too know exactly what those poor folks are going through. I've lived through it and even rushed to help others recover from it many times over the years.
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Good post Tider. The biggest thing, as you know well is for everyone in the community to unite and work together.

T-Town and all the other communities can come back. It takes months and even years but it can be done.

The losses of life however is something that can never be forgotten. But regrouping and rebuilding in the memory of those lost is the biggest tribute that you can pay them.
 
GulfCoastTider said:
I too know exactly what those poor folks are going through. I've lived through it and even rushed to help others recover from it many times over the years.
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This is one of the times I'M GLAD I'm not working anymore (disabled utility lineman). I would be in those "closed" areas putting up poles and wire to homes that cant even take it, seeing the bodies and all is hard on you.
 
RollTideGoHeels said:
Tuscaloosa probably had 30 minutes tops with the warning,...
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You are right about the lead time. Even though the weather channel had said for a day it could be bad on Wed, no one really pays attention until those sirens go off in town. In a college town it's even worse because of the large number of kids who feel invincible at their age. I remember several major tornado warnings and some that actually spun off tornadoes while I was in school and kids were still out under their patio covers drinking and partying it up. I grew up in Oklahoma and learned at an early age to take them serious. Others however did not.
 
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RollTideGoHeels said:
You are correct. People in NOLA refused to leave with atleast a week leadtime, Tuscaloosa probably had 30 minutes tops with the warning, then less than that as I watched them show the twister live on 33/40. Then like what happened in OKC in 98 or 99, I even seen basements ripped up from the foundation and killed families. Like me and my bestfriend said, when these F4/F5'***** there is no hiding period. Its either your time or not. The Ohatchee storm and Eclectic storms kinda split us, so we were lucky here. I'm on the top floor of a 2 story apartment and didnt want to have to hide.

PS-Still looking about damage on 49th Avenue East in case anyone knows... Still no word from my cousin. Also my cousin in Cleveland TN. (near Chattanooga) said her neighbor found mail from Tuscaloosa in their yard, thats even further than the Attalla finds. Amazing. Her Father also found mail in THEIR yard from Ft. Payne.
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New Orleans got all the national media attention but they were on the left side of Katrina.

Had they built their levees correctly they wouldn't have even had damage because Katrina hit the Mississippi Coast and not New Orleans.

That's not known by many but it's the truth.
 
Alasippi said:
New Orleans got all the national media attention but they were on the left side of Katrina.

Had they built their levees correctly they wouldn't have even had damage because Katrina hit the Mississippi Coast and not New Orleans.

That's not known by many but it's the truth.
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I think it's known by people from Texas to Florida along the Gulf Coast that Mississppi and eastern part of Louisianna got the full brunt of Katrina. Not to demean or lessen what happened to New Orleans the general populace in general of New Orleans.


on another note it seems DJ Fluker lost everything to the tornado he is safe though and thats what counts.
 
Dallas4Bama said:
You are right about the lead time. Even though the weather channel had said for a day it could be bad on Wed, no one really pays attention until those sirens go off in town. In a college town it's even worse because of the large number of kids who feel invincible at their age. I remember several major tornado warnings and some that actually spun off tornadoes while I was in school and kids were still out under their patio covers drinking and partying it up. I grew up in Oklahoma and learned at an early age to take them serious. Others however did not.
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Thing is though people still have to work and places dont shutdown on days like yesterday with a PDS Tornado Watch. I'm afraid thats what got alot of people killed yesterday. Even w/Tinker's girlfriend they said she called her parents to say she was getting in a closet, atleast they tried to take cover and sadly it still got them.

People are going to have to be patient, with transmission lines down in Alabama Power territory and TVA, its going to take a LONG time to get power back on. On disasters like this you can build a mile of regular overhead distribution line in a day or two with contractors and help, but with transmission towers down the same manpower would take atleast a week or more. AP lost substations as well that were taken off the foundation (they put them in low cheap bought land anyways) and it takes awhile to get the step down transformers in there and installed to even get the transmission lines to the substations. Plus with Union rules AP workers can only get 16 on, 8 off. Contractors that are not union work longer and with crews coming from Illinois it will take them awhile to get here as most bucket trucks are governed at 60-65mph and when they bring alot of trucks they travel together and fill up together, etc. and it can take two days for them to get here.
 
37bamagrl said:
It doesn't have Full Moon on the list, but I'm assuming it's gone? Looks like it from pictures.
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It's gone, yes. Everything in that shopping center, including the Planet Fitness, Hobby Lobby, etc. was destroyed. Midtown seems to have been leveled as well.
 
Alasippi said:
New Orleans got all the national media attention but they were on the left side of Katrina.

Had they built their levees correctly they wouldn't have even had damage because Katrina hit the Mississippi Coast and not New Orleans.

That's not known by many but it's the truth.
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You are correct, MS. took the brunt of that storm and all NOLA got was the flooding. My Dad used to live in Gulfport and if we were in the same apartment complex then we would have died.
 
Dallas4Bama said:
You are right about the lead time. Even though the weather channel had said for a day it could be bad on Wed, no one really pays attention until those sirens go off in town.
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Yup. NWS issued a warning this morning at 5:35 stating that at 5:30 there was a tstorm pretty much directly over my house that could produce tornadoes. Fortunately the storm moved on without spawning any, but had it happened, it would have been over by the time we got the alert. Luckily we were already awake, but still, very little warning... scary stuff. I got lucky with just a few trees down and some runoff damage from the 5+ inches of rain we got. Compared to what happened to you guys, it's nothing. Sadly, SWVA did not get off so easy; there were at least five fatalities in Washington County, which borders NC/TN.
 
like you 36bamagrl, I lost everything in the wildfires of so calif. I went in to pack and 20 sec later my neighbor said it was too late the hillside is on fire. I got out with my life. You just never know. I am sure you are going thru this deep grieving for Tuscaloosa like I am.

Thought this NASA animation of yesterday storm was intriguing. My mind just can't wrap around this.

I Bleed Crimson Red: NASA GOES Animation of the 4/27/11 Storm System
 
Re: reports of major tornado damage in T-twon

rolltidewin said:
Idk if this has been posted but there's been 15 deaths
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The governor says there are almost 200 in the state. President Witt said at least 2 students have died. The mayor said this morning over 30 in the city.
 
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