In Memoriam of the April 27 Tornadoes in Alabama

It's been a year since tornadoes tore across the state of Alabama in several waves of storms, on April 27, 2011, uprooting trees, homes, and lives. More than two hundred were killed, tens of thousands were left homeless, but none of us were unaffected. Memories of that day are no less vivid now than in the days immediately thereafter. 

I got a call from my tenants in Warrior around 8:30am that a tornado had ripped through that town, damaging my house, but leaving everyone healthy; almost every large tree on the block was downed leaving that landscape forever altered. That afternoon, I watched live footage of a large tornado as it tracked directly toward downtown Cullman, eventually ripping through that city and devastating it.

But those events were only precursors fore what was to come. A couple of hours later, multiple tornadoes touched down in western Alabama and began making their way east. One particular tornado stayed on the ground for more than 120 miles, at times more than a mile wide, and ravaging the likes of Tuscaloosa, Phil Campbell, Pleasant Grove, Pratt City, Fultondale, and on east to Anniston.

What left an equally strong impression as the storms themselves was the outpouring of love, compassion, giving, and humanity from neighbors and strangers across the street, state, and nation, that began in the moments immediately following the devastation and has continued to date. And while the landscape is still scarred, the long road to recovery is well under way.

Earlier posts regarding these tornadoes: Warrior and Fultondale, Fultondale, Tuscaloosa, Pratt City.

Fultondale and the Tornado of January 23

Fultondale was largely spared by the EF3 tornado that swept across the Birmingham area early on the Morning of January 23, 2012...

...but it still bears the scars and open wounds of the EF5 that traversed much of the state on April 27, 2011. Many homes remain largely in the irreparable state which they have been in for nine months. Businesses bear promises of return that remain unfulfilled. The courses of lives forever altered.

In an attempt to help in some small part, I am donating to the Alabama Red Cross the proceeds from any prints from my website, ordered by the end of January. The Alabama Red Cross played a huge role in helping storm victims recover in April and the ensuing months, and has begun to do so again.

Raising Funds for Tornado Relief in Alabama

For the second time in the last nine months, Alabama has been stricken by widespread severe weather. The destruction of the storms of January 23, 2012, is in no way comparable in scale to that suffered on April 27, 2011, but those affected are no less in need. Within the Birmingham area, the communities of Clay, Trussville, and Oak Grove were hit particularly hard. In an effort to help in some small part, I would like to do the following: the proceeds from any prints ordered using the code "Red Cross" on my website between now and the end of January will be donated to the Alabama Red Cross for their efforts in relieving those affected by the tornadoes of January 23, 2012.

Destruction  in Tuscaloosa, Alabama from the April 27, 2011 Tornado

Tornado Stricken :: Pratt City

Pratt City, Alabama

Tornado Stricken :: Tuscaloosa

Exactly four weeks after the fact, I visited Tuscaloosa for the first time since it was devastated by at least one tornado. Rebuilding has not yet begun. Reparations have commenced on those dwellings and buildings which can be restored. Some empty lots can now be found, which in recent days contained the remnants of buildings. But mostly, things lie as they had fallen... 

The former residence of some friends in the Forest Lake neighborhood

...some with messages to loved ones, like the house which bore the message: "We love you Mamaw and Papaw." Still others warn off potential looters with clever messages reading: "If you loot, we will shoot!" But many contain notes regarding family pets, and on that front, at least, there seems to be good news.

Signs declaring hope and the soon returns of neighbors and businesses proclaim the resounding pride or fortitude of Tuscaloosa's residents, even in the face of constant devastation, from which there can be expected no soon relief.

The Remains of the Forest Lake District

Tornado Stricken :: Warrior and Fultondale

WARRIOR

On Wednesday morning, April 27, I got a call from my tenants that the house they rent from me had been damaged by straight-line winds that ripped through Warrior around 6am that morning. The winds are thought to have exceeded 90-100mph.

I arrived at the house a few minutes later to discover that nearly every tree on the block and been uprooted, and most had landed on a home. One was lying somewhat on my house and another on the detached garage, which received substantially more damage than the house.

As bad as this appeared to be, worse storms were yet to come.

FULTONDALE

The tornado that tracked for more than a hundred miles from Tuscaloosa through Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Pratt City, and east Birmingham, also hit Fultondale. It struck about one mile from our home. I took the opportunity today to photograph the damage and the beginnings of cleanup efforts.