I think most people around Tuscaloosa remember that day in so much detail because our city has never experienced such devastation. People always say where were you that day? I remember every little thing about that day and all the emotions that went through my head. Fear, sadness, anger, helpless.
It all started that morning when most of us were awakened by the storm that came through Coaling. About 5am there was an intense lightening show outside. While I dislike storms I wasn't too worried because James Spann was on and telling us what areas may be affected so I was far enough away. I don't think we realized how much damage it really did in that area, though because that afternoons events overshadowed the early tornado. I went to work as usual and we had the weather on as usual. All day we kept seeing these horrific images of tornados all over. The one that stuck out the most was the live view of the Cullman tornado which was, I want to say, around 3 maybe?? Well this is when I kind of started to worry. I normally get off at 4 but we had heard they were sending people home early that day, but we had not been told we could go yet so we kept bugging our boss and he finally said go around 3:45. I drove home as fast as I could and tornado sirens were going off everywhere. I was scared. Little did I know that only a bit over an hour after I went down hwy 359 a tornado would cross at that same spot. No one imagined that I'm sure. I got home and my mother, grandmother, and uncle are at my house ready to ride out the storm. My grandmothers house had been hit the week before and there was a huge oak tree leaning in her yard. We were worried any little bit of wind may shift that tree and destroy her house so we told her and my uncle to come to my house!
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| The back of her house. |
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| The tree that was leaning over my Grandmothers house. |
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| This was right over her bed. Tree went right through the roof! |
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After the April 15th storm.
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We were all listening to the police scanner on my phone and heard that there was a tornado on the ground near Joe Mallisham Parkway. We didnt know where it was heading or anything because my cable had gone out so no tv or internet. A little bit later my work link went off and it was my boss Larry and he said that he was watching it on tv in Northport and they said there was a tornado heading down Skyland and thats when we all hopped up and got in my bedroom closet (thank goodness its big!) We had two bag chairs in there for my mom and grandmother sat and me and my uncle were sitting on the floor. I had gathered my 3 cats and brought them in there too. We sat and sat and sat and nothing so I decided to go out and look out the window. I didn't see anything so I figured it must have gone another way or it was very slow. I was pretty scared as I am sure all of Tuscaloosa was. We stayed in the closet for a little while longer and then we finally got out and went to look outside. I don't get good cell reception in my house so I wasn't able to even look online on my phone until we got outside. Several neighbors were out and about checking to make sure nothing happened around us. We were spared.......unfortunately others in Tuscaloosa were not. One of the first things I read on Facebook was that 15th Street was destroyed. Well I used to live on 15th Street so that hit me hard. Then I heard the worst thing you could possibly hear....DCH is leveled. My heart stopped. Not only did we know so many people working there we wondered how was this city going to make it without the hospital. Mom turned on the radio in her car and there were reports coming into every radio station about damage and I just wondered what the rest of the city looked like. Where all did it hit? Are my friends and family ok? My dad had gone to ride the storm out with my sister and her two kids on Hargrove Road. We couldn't get in touch with them because cell phone service was crazy that day! So we got in the car and headed that way. Half way there they called to check on us and let us know they were fine and the only damage they had was a tree fall in the backyard onto the fence. So we turned around. We then decided to go see if my grandmothers house made it through the storm. She lives off of Crescent Ridge Rd and from what I had been hearing there was major damage that way. I was so scared for her house but knew that even if she didn't have a house we still had her! During all of this I had been calling and texting my best friend Brittany who had gone to work around 3 that day....at DCH. I was so scared that she was not ok. I finally found out that DCH being "leveled" was a far cry from the truth. It actually barely escaped but thankfully was missed! But I still hadn't heard from her. Finally I called her boyfriend and I found out he had talked to her and she was fine, but she was just extremely busy. I was relieved! After an hour or two of fighting traffic we made it back home. I wanted so bad to go out and help someone. Everyone wanted to do something at that moment but I knew that the best thing to do is stay out of the first responders, police, fire and other emergency personnel's way. I stayed at my house all by myself which was a little creepy because I didn't have power but I didn't dare complain because I had a roof over my head and I had my family. Woke up the next morning to head to work and went to get ready in the dark to find out I had no water. Again, yes an inconvenience but nothing compared to what some were going through so I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and headed out the door. I ended up late to work because of the traffic on Hwy 359 since it was one of the only roads in town still open to get from where I live to Northport. It was very hard to focus at work that day knowing what was going on just across the bridge. I desperately wanted to tell my boss look im gone people need help. But I had to stay there. That night me and my sister went to Holt High School because we heard they were sorting and taking donations for people and we wanted to do something. We only got to stay for a couple hours because they had to stop at dark since there was still no power.
I finally got to really talk to Britt and she let me know that her dads house was destroyed. I was in shock. Her dad was ok. But the house was not. She had moved out a few months before so most of her stuff was out anyway but she was going that next morning to see if anything could be salvaged. Again, we wanted to help so me and my sister met her at my grandmothers house because that's as close as we could get to her house in Alberta since they were not letting cars in. We had to walk from the water tower in Holt around to University Blvd. Her house is on the street that runs next to Rite Aid. I'm so out of shape I didn't think I was going to make it. When we got to her house I wasn't prepared for what I saw. It was one of those moments where you just stop and stare and think what do you do first? I don't know how she kept it together like she did but she is tough! Her neighbors house was pretty much in front of her house and it was hard to tell which family stuff belonged to so it was kind of a thing where hey is this yours or theirs? I found a box in the kitchen that had all kinds of important papers that belonged to her neighbor. We also found one of the only things they were hoping to salvage which was a small egg type thing that had special meaning to them. I ended up finding it under half of Brittany's dad's bedroom. It was amazing that we found something so small in all that mess but I believe it was a higher power that brought that to the surface for them to be able to have it. Luckily Justin (or as most know him "Chicken") kept the humor going to keep everyone in high spirits. He was the one thing that I think kept everyone from just breaking down and crying that day it was surreal. Britt had gathered a few things she wanted to keep that had belonged to her mother who passed a few years ago and we climbed in the backyard where the storage building kept some of her old things and she ended up sitting down and going through things reminiscing about her childhood. I can't image how hard that must have been for her. We finally got what she wanted that could be salvaged and we decided to go. I know it was hard on her to see it and the heat was hard on the rest of us. Her neighbor ended up being able to drive us back to my car at my grandmothers. I took a few pictures before we left and in one of them you can see Britt taking pictures of her house and it broke my heart. I'm just so glad she is ok and they did eventually find her cats under the deck. Luckily they had run scared and hid but didn't come out for a few days.
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| Whats left of the kitchen. Notice the dishes still in the cabinet. That was eery. |
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The living room wall was gone so it went straight into her dads bedroom.
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The fish did survived the tornado but not the lack of power.
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| Total destruction. |
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| I can't imagine what was going through Britt's mind. |
I finally got to really talk to Britt and she let me know that her dads house was destroyed. I was in shock. Her dad was ok. But the house was not. She had moved out a few months before so most of her stuff was out anyway but she was going that next morning to see if anything could be salvaged. Again, we wanted to help so me and my sister met her at my grandmothers house because that's as close as we could get to her house in Alberta since they were not letting cars in. We had to walk from the water tower in Holt around to University Blvd. Her house is on the street that runs next to Rite Aid. I'm so out of shape I didn't think I was going to make it. When we got to her house I wasn't prepared for what I saw. It was one of those moments where you just stop and stare and think what do you do first? I don't know how she kept it together like she did but she is tough! Her neighbors house was pretty much in front of her house and it was hard to tell which family stuff belonged to so it was kind of a thing where hey is this yours or theirs? I found a box in the kitchen that had all kinds of important papers that belonged to her neighbor. We also found one of the only things they were hoping to salvage which was a small egg type thing that had special meaning to them. I ended up finding it under half of Brittany's dad's bedroom. It was amazing that we found something so small in all that mess but I believe it was a higher power that brought that to the surface for them to be able to have it. Luckily Justin (or as most know him "Chicken") kept the humor going to keep everyone in high spirits. He was the one thing that I think kept everyone from just breaking down and crying that day it was surreal. Britt had gathered a few things she wanted to keep that had belonged to her mother who passed a few years ago and we climbed in the backyard where the storage building kept some of her old things and she ended up sitting down and going through things reminiscing about her childhood. I can't image how hard that must have been for her. We finally got what she wanted that could be salvaged and we decided to go. I know it was hard on her to see it and the heat was hard on the rest of us. Her neighbor ended up being able to drive us back to my car at my grandmothers. I took a few pictures before we left and in one of them you can see Britt taking pictures of her house and it broke my heart. I'm just so glad she is ok and they did eventually find her cats under the deck. Luckily they had run scared and hid but didn't come out for a few days.
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