23 dead, 8 missing, dozens homeless: How to help people affected by Alabama tornado
The house the Beauregard tornado moved intact 30 yards from its concrete block foundation is what National Weather Service workers call a “slider.”
Such structures are not firmly affixed, often only “toenailed” to the foundation with nails that high winds easily pull loose, said Chris Darden of the NWS Birmingham office, as he pointed out the nails along one side of the blocks, where the home used to be.
The house came to rest on the edge of a county road, but still held together, while all around it was devastation — most of the trees gone, others twisted and festooned with yellow insulation blown upon the wind, wrecked vehicles, and what remained of other homes, some reduced to rubble.
It was one of the areas hardest hit by Sunday’s EF-4 tornado that killed 23 and left dozens homeless. Reporters and photographers briefly were allowed in to record images Tuesday after an update from authorities on the search and rescue effort.
Often first responders don’t find a slider intact, Darden said: They find an empty foundation and a pile of rubble 75 to 100 yards away, because once the wind takes the building off its base, it “blows up” or rips apart.
Sometimes they find a body. Darden said he stumbled upon one Sunday night, while he was inspecting the damage on Lee County Road 39, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm that authorities said left a square mile of wreckage along Alabama Highway 51, at county roads 39 and 38.
The storm that hit Beauregard had a track that extended 70 miles into Georgia, Darden said. Sunday’s other two Alabama tornadoes, one in Macon County and another in Barbour County, each has been upgraded from an EF-1 to an EF-2. The one in Macon County had a track of 29 Miles. The one in Barbour wrecked the National Weather Service equipment at the Eufaula airport, he said.
Darden said radar at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery had a catastrophic failure two weeks ago, and residents were fortunate the Department of Defense had it up and running before these storms.
The update
The dead ranged in age from 6 to 89, according to a list Lee County Coroner Bill Harris provided Tuesday morning during what has become a daily news conference at Beauregard High School.
Four were children ages 6, 8, 9 and 10. Most were in their 50s and 60s. Seven were in the same family, connected by marriage, living in two homes along the same road, Harris said.
Beyond comfort for the losses suffered, that family will need financial aid, to pay for seven funerals, the coroner said.
One of the children killed in the storm, Taylor Thornton, 10, earlier was publicly identified, as supporters set up funding pages for her family they publicized on Facebook — one by father David’s coworkers at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he’s a pharmacy technician at the Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital. Another was established by friends at Lee-Scott Academy, where she went to school.
Harris said all the bodies had been identified and released to funeral homes as of 10 p.m. Monday. As reported Monday, the death toll remained at 23.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said search teams had cleared the hardest hit area, but piles of debris remained to be sifted through, aided by staff from the Opelika Fire Department. Fire Chief Byron Prather said medics from his department were on hand, should anyone be found injured, or become injured during the search.
The teams no longer were conducting a “broad spectrum” search, the sheriff said, just focusing on a few remaining areas where rubble needed to be cleared.
Only seven or eight people reported missing still remained unaccounted for, he said, a significant decrease from the information rescuers had Monday. The injured were transported to at least three different area hospitals, including Piedmont Columbus Regional.
“Piedmont Columbus Midtown has received more than 20 patients as a result of Sunday’s tornado outbreak,” hospital spokeswoman Jessica Word Roberts wrote in an email Tuesday. “We are actively treating patients with conditions ranging from lacerations, broken bones, respiratory distress, head injuries to critical injuries.”
Also Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced he will visit Lee County to inspect the storm damage on Friday.
The president has declared a major disaster in Alabama so that federal funding’s available to those affected. That aid includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans for uninsured property losses, and other programs.
Residents and business owners can start applying for assistance Wednesday by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or calling 1-800-621-3362, or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free numbers will operate 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CST daily, until further notice.
Donations, volunteers
Volunteers who are not affiliated with any agency were to be coordinated through Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham’s disaster relief organization online at www.samaritanspurse.org.
Kathryn Carson of the Lee County Emergency Management Agency said a volunteer reception center would open at 8 a.m. CST in Smiths Station, where volunteers would get a safety briefing and be issued protective gear.
Anyone already affiliated with an agency should work through their local emergency management agency to volunteer, or if coming from out of state, coordinate with Alabama Emergency Management.
Volunteers still can call 211 to register the services offered, and any storm victims with immediate needs also should call that number, Carson said: “We can’t help them if we don’t know what their needs are.”
Victims in need of ice can get it for free at the First Baptist Church at Avenue B and 10th Street in Opelika, she said.
Anyone who needs to report someone still unaccounted for should visit www.leecoema.com to register that information. Storm victims also can go there to request the Red Cross replace lost medications. If they have no online access, they can call 334-749-8161, Carson said.
Beauregard’s Providence Baptist Church at 2807 Lee County Road 166 also is accepting drop-off donations, though Pastor Rusty Sowell said it has an overstock of clothes and water. The church is online at www.providencealive.com.
Carson said the church also is the designated shelter, for those who’ve lost their homes, and it is not at capacity.
For property owners engaging in cleanup, Carson asked that they move their debris to the roadside for pickup, but separate vegetation such as downed trees and limbs from building wreckage, and do not block driveways or drainage along the road.
The schools
As Beauregard shifts from search and rescue to recovery and cleanup, 14 Lee County public schools remain closed, said Superintendent Dr. Mac McCoy, who has about 10,000 students in his district.
“We’ve lost students,” he said of the storm’s toll, but other schools also have been affected in one way or another: West Elementary School in Smiths Station was damaged, its heating and air-conditioning units ripped from the roof and deposited in a nearby cemetery.
Samford Middle School is being used to coordinate first responders. Beauregard High School remains the place where a horde of local, national and international media gather daily for briefings, meals and charging stations for electronics.
So far the schools are taking this day by day, not setting a specific time to reopen, McCoy said. Because Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency, the schools so far are not obligated to make up the class time.
When the schools reopen, additional grief counselors will be available for anyone needing help, he said. Teachers will come back first, for their own counseling, and to prepare them for the students, who may react to the trauma differently, depending on their age and circumstance. Some desks will be noticeably empty.
Auburn and Opelika city schools, which are not in the county district, have offered their counselors, as have other schools across Alabama and Georgia, he said.
McCoy is in his 35th year as an educator, his 15h as a superintendent. He came to Lee County from Commerce, Ga., he said.
“This is by far the worst crisis I’ve ever been involved with,” he said.
How to volunteer or donate
501 Salon Experience: The downtown Columbus salon will deliver supplies on March 10 to Eufaula, Beauregard and Jack Hughston Hospital. Those interested can drop off items at the salon, located at 1238 Broadway. They are looking for items like diapers, juice, baby formula, sunscreen, hygiene products, socks, underwear, tarps, power cords and more. Check their Facebook page for more information.
East Alabama Chamber of Commerce: The Lee County Board of Realtors has requested any spare rooms, hotel or apartment complex vacancies, or any other locations to house first responders in the area. Workers need a place to sleep, clean up and keep their suitcases. To volunteer a location, contact LCAR President Karen Turner at (334) 332-7005 or kttrealestate@yahoo.com.
AT&T: AT&T drove a mobile support center and mobile charging stations to Lee County Monday from Birmingham. The support center travels back and forth each day, but mobile charging stations were left at Providence Baptist Church, 2807 Lee Road 166 and Sanford Middle School, 1500 Lee Road 11.
A satellite truck is also on the way to Talbotton, according to AT&T spokeswoman Kelly Starling. A “cell on wheels” unit is on the way to Smiths Station, along with generators.
Those who want to help tornado victims can text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross.
If you or your organization is participating in tornado relief efforts, send all information to deputy editor Lauren Gorla (lgorla@ledger-enquirer.com) to include in this listing.
This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 3:24 PM.