Devastating Tornado Damage in Tuscaloosa

Is there looting and violence and whatnot going on?

My sister is still in Tuscaloosa and my mom is losing her mind because her friends from work are telling all these crazy stories of looters breaking into peoples' houses, people being mugged and the place being like post-katrina nola.

I don't really believe it because it was not like that at all when I left, and none of my friends who are still down there have said anything like that. However, any info that anyone has about that situation would be appreciated.
Yes..Sadly folks are having to fend off looters at hard hit areas..Here's a article from The Anniston Star that mentions about the looting going on..

Here's The Link..CLICK ME
 
Prayers to everyone in Alabama. There are still over 10,000 Ga Power customers out and nearly all around Rome. Good thing is they are covered up with help.

Everyone else is headed to Alabama. Folks I work with are headed to Tuscaloosa. I told them to be prepared to be shocked by what they see. We don't get tonadoes like the ones that came through. I've been doing it for 30 years and have never seen anything close to this by the pics and video.

I took my two girls to the Penn State game last year and they remember being on McFarland. They left for school almost in shock after seeing pics.

Pray for no bad weather in Ga.Every headquarters in the state has only a few folks there. The rest are in Rome or heading to Alabama.
 
The immediate need is overwhelming, but we all need to remember that the need in those areas hit is going to persist for many, many, many months. Right now, people are thinking about basic necessities like food, shelter, water and clothing. In the coming days and weeks there will be an acute rise in heart attacks and strokes suffered by the men (mostly) who are going to be working harder physically than many of them have ever worked in their lives. Suicides will rise. Abuse of alcohol and drugs will rise. Domestic violence will rise. Hospital admissions for medical and psychiatric illnesses will rise.

We all have to help now, but let's none of us forget that we have to KEEP HELPING for months to come.
 
The immediate need is overwhelming, but we all need to remember that the need in those areas hit is going to persist for many, many, many months. Right now, people are thinking about basic necessities like food, shelter, water and clothing. In the coming days and weeks there will be an acute rise in heart attacks and strokes suffered by the men (mostly) who are going to be working harder physically than many of them have ever worked in their lives. Suicides will rise. Abuse of alcohol and drugs will rise. Domestic violence will rise. Hospital admissions for medical and psychiatric illnesses will rise.

We all have to help now, but let's none of us forget that we have to KEEP HELPING for months to come.


ABSOLUTELY. I posted this in another thread, but I feel like it can't be said enough.

90% of volunteers who plan on helping with relief are going to come this weekend or next, but this thing is going to take years to get through. I urge everyone to circle a date a month or two away on your calender and make that the day you're going to show up with a group of volunteers.
 
Has the governor called up the Guard to help the police with looting?
The Guard has been activated, but they will have varying responsibilities.

My personal experience with Katrina looting along the MS Gulf Coast was that it settled down once the local populace was able to arm themselves sufficiently. Word "got out" that people were defending their gutted homes and businesses and things got much better after that. My husband stayed in our gutted house alone, one of the only men to do so in our part of the bayou, and walked the perimeter nightly, armed. There were a few nights looters were coming up the waterways in boats and canoes looking to see where they could get in and get what they could. It only took a couple of run-ins with my husband and the activity in our neighborhood stopped.

It will be bad for a while in the tornado affected areas because law enforcement is overwhelmed. The people will eventually set things right.
 
Has the governor called up the Guard to help the police with looting?

Yes, there were National Guardsmen patroling the streets of Hackleburg & Phil Campbell with guns. It was surreal to see.

Not the same angle, but this is the before/after of the Wrangler plant.

BeforeAfterWrangler.jpg


226355_609495934935_183400141_32961853_3904925_n.jpg


This^ is how most of the city looks. It's as if it was all turned into a landfill. What you don't realize unless you've been there before is that for the most part, this was a largely wooded area. It use to be impossible to see around corners because of trees. Now it looks like Kansas.

Hackleburg High School

224784_609494128555_183400141_32961848_4649810_n.jpg


The walls are standing, but the whole place will have to go.
 
This is as bad as i can ever remember going back to the april 3,74 outbreak to hit Alabama.The Ohatchee tornado went less than 5 miles south of me.Pretty much total destruction in northern Calhoun county.Thoughts and prayers to everyone affected in t-town and all over our state by these devastating storms.
 
Yes, there were National Guardsmen patroling the streets of Hackleburg & Phil Campbell with guns. It was surreal to see.

That shot of the Wrangler plant really got to me. I drove by there on Monday on the way to my grandmother's funeral in Lamar County, and I'd passed by that plant Lord knows how many more times on my way to see her and on my trips from Florence to Tuscaloosa when I was attending UA.

It bears repeating that recovery from this storm is going to be measured in years, not days or weeks.
 
Sure puts all the cursing and screaming at the television over football games into perspective.
 
I was shocked to see that the number of missing has risen.

From the Crimson White

Ten of the 39 confirmed deaths have been verified as between the ages of 18 and 24, said Steven Anderson, TPD chief of police.
The number of people missing has climbed to 570, said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.
 
That shot of the Wrangler plant really got to me. I drove by there on Monday on the way to my grandmother's funeral in Lamar County, and I'd passed by that plant Lord knows how many more times on my way to see her and on my trips from Florence to Tuscaloosa when I was attending UA.

It bears repeating that recovery from this storm is going to be measured in years, not days or weeks.

What part of Lamar County? My family is from Lamar as well...between Vernon and Millport.
 
I live in Cullman County. The story here is the same, desperate, it all seems like a bad dream. I can't help but to feel hopeless and confused. My family is displaced now were staying with relatives in Shelby County. Our home suffered roof, electrical, plumbing damage etc and damage to our vehicles. When the tornado was comming we saw it, it looked like it was comming right at us. My wife was crying, my kids were crying and all I could do was gather them up and head to the bath tub. For the first time in my life I didn't know what to do, we don't have a basement or storm shelter and neither does our community, we had nowhere to run and hide. I'm afffraid this has effected my son he won't let me and his mother out of his sight and he's only slept about 9 hours since Wednesday night. I'm very thankful we weren't injured or killed I know many families aren't so lucky. Right now I'm sitting here confused in need of direction. I just don't know where to start, everything is a mess. I am so sorry for the loss of so many, I'm praying for everyone in our state. I'm almost affraid to go back home. I don't ever think I'll forget the feeling of being a helpless, scared parent. God Bless Us All

I'm so sorry. I remember seeing a picture of your son on your avatar. Bless you! I'm so glad you're safe. I can't imagine the fear you had. I have no idea what assistance is available in your area, but maybe counselors are or will be available. Children sometimes don't know how to process it all (heck, I don't either!). There are professionals trained to deal with child stress and trauma that maybe could help at some point. Children are resilient, so I'm sure time won't hurt. I feel for you as a parent. Know that people are praying for you and all others across the state.
 
I live in Cullman County. The story here is the same, desperate, it all seems like a bad dream. I can't help but to feel hopeless and confused. My family is displaced now were staying with relatives in Shelby County. Our home suffered roof, electrical, plumbing damage etc and damage to our vehicles. When the tornado was comming we saw it, it looked like it was comming right at us. My wife was crying, my kids were crying and all I could do was gather them up and head to the bath tub. For the first time in my life I didn't know what to do, we don't have a basement or storm shelter and neither does our community, we had nowhere to run and hide. I'm afffraid this has effected my son he won't let me and his mother out of his sight and he's only slept about 9 hours since Wednesday night. I'm very thankful we weren't injured or killed I know many families aren't so lucky. Right now I'm sitting here confused in need of direction. I just don't know where to start, everything is a mess. I am so sorry for the loss of so many, I'm praying for everyone in our state. I'm almost affraid to go back home. I don't ever think I'll forget the feeling of being a helpless, scared parent. God Bless Us All

So sorry to hear about your son and your current situation. I was about 12 when my Grandfather worked at the Farley Nuclear Plant. We lived in a Trailer park in Ashford during the week and we would go home to our real home in Selma on the weekends. One morning about 3 am we had 3 twisters come through and one of the destroyed our trailer park. It picked our trailer up, turned it on it side and set it back down. It Through me up against the wall and into the bed with my grandparents and killed the lady that lived next to us. I remember it like it was yesterday. It took me years to get over that and I was scared every time that a thunderstorm would occur. All I can say is be patient with him, it will take some time.

God Bless you and your family.
 
I live in Cullman County. The story here is the same, desperate, it all seems like a bad dream. I can't help but to feel hopeless and confused. My family is displaced now were staying with relatives in Shelby County. Our home suffered roof, electrical, plumbing damage etc and damage to our vehicles. When the tornado was comming we saw it, it looked like it was comming right at us. My wife was crying, my kids were crying and all I could do was gather them up and head to the bath tub. For the first time in my life I didn't know what to do, we don't have a basement or storm shelter and neither does our community, we had nowhere to run and hide. I'm afffraid this has effected my son he won't let me and his mother out of his sight and he's only slept about 9 hours since Wednesday night. I'm very thankful we weren't injured or killed I know many families aren't so lucky. Right now I'm sitting here confused in need of direction. I just don't know where to start, everything is a mess. I am so sorry for the loss of so many, I'm praying for everyone in our state. I'm almost affraid to go back home. I don't ever think I'll forget the feeling of being a helpless, scared parent. God Bless Us All


Mulletover....I am so sorry to read this. I hope your family will be O.K. and that your house can be repaired before too long. It sounds like you are in shock right now and it will be hard to make decisions about what to do next. Give it a few more days. I am also from Cullman. Luckily, our house was not damaged, but I have friends who lost their homes and businesses.

I am posting an aerial video of damages to the town itself. It will never be the same. Many businesses are gone, as well as portions of the historic residential area. God's blessings to you and your family.
YouTube - Cullman Tornado Damage Aerials
 
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It's been quite a day, but I've got a few stories that I think will brighten your day as it did mine. My parents decided this morning that they were going to come down from Indiana to Bama to bring some supplies and to help with the relief effort, I found out shortly thereafter that I could get off of work long enough to go with them and help out. So my mom immediately put out a request for donations on facebook and we had several people respond and donate to the relief effort, but here are a few stories that really stood out to me.

I went into Walgreens today to pick up a couple of items and got to talking with the cashier, and she told me that someone else had just been in there and basically had bought them out of bottled waters. She asked him what he was going to do with all that water, and he told her that he was taking it down to the tornado victims in Alabama.

My parents went into Wal-mart to get some supplies for the trip. The manager heard what they were going to do with all the supplies that they were buying and donated 18 cases of bottled water, 4 cases of distilled water, and 4 huge boxes of baby wipes.

And last but not least, when I heard about this I literally almost started crying. We have some friends who are unemployed right now so they couldn't donate, but their 5 year old son and six year old daughter heard what we were doing and they wanted to help. So they took their own birthday money and bought four cases of bottle water to donate to the effort. Those two children were more generous than a lot of adults I know. That truly is priceless.

Many gave today, and I can't mention all of them, but I just wanted to let you people of Alabama know to take heart. The state of Indiana has your back, and you'll be hearing from us soon.

God Bless and Roll Tide!!!
 
That's great bomber and thx. I had a couple of good stories to share as well. Both are from Tuscaloosa.

One family here had to ride out the storm and didn't know of the warnings until it hit because many had lost power earlier that day due to storms. When it hit they were all in a hallway. Parents and children 2, 4, and 7. One parent had the 2yo the other had the 4yo but each thought the other also was holding the 7yo. Neither did and he was sucked out by the tornado. By the grace of God he was set back down in the yard with only cuts.

The other involved a family pet. A husband was holding the dog but his wife was being pulled up so he let go of the dog to pull his wife down. The dog was sucked up into the twister. Today they got a call from someone who found the dog alive. It was in Birmingham!
 

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