As tornadoes struck, survivors sought refuge in bathtubs and shipping containers.
MARBURY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama engine mechanic took refuge in a shipping container as a tornado from a violent storm decimated his shop and killed two of his neighbors along its destructive path across Alabama and Georgia.
The harrowing stories of David Hollon and other survivors of Thursday’s storm are emerging as residents comb through the wreckage wrought by tornadoes and blistering winds that have led to the deaths of at least nine people.
In Alabama’s rural Autauga CountyHollon and his staff saw a large tornado moving towards them. They needed to get to shelter — immediately.
Hollon stated that they found a shipping container made of metal near his garage’s back. It had been concretely anchored to the ground. Hollon dialed his neighbor on the telephone frantically once he got inside. As they heard the storm ripping apart their garage, Hollon continued to dial his neighbor on the phone.
They emerged from the storm to find their neighbor’s body in the street. A family member reported that another neighbor had also died.
“I guess we did a lot better than most. We got damage, but we’re still here,” Hollon, 52, said in an interview Saturday as he walked amidst the remains of his garage, stepping through a field littered with battered cars, shattered glass, snapped tree branches, splintered wood and other debris.
Leighea Johnson (54-year-old cafeteria worker, also from Autauga county), stood among the rubble of her trailer home. She pointed to a pile of rubble and identified it as her bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.
The swing set she used in her backyard was now located across the street. It was mangled between some trees. Her outdoor trampoline had been wrapped around another set of trees in a neighbor’s front yard.
“The trailer should be here, and now it’s not,” Johnson said, pointing to a slab covered in debris, “And it is all over the place now.”
The storm brought powerful twisters and winds to Alabama and Georgia The storm caused trees to be uprooted, mobile homes to fly, derail a freight train, flip cars, crack utility poles, and knocked down power lines, leaving thousands without electricity. According to the National Weather Service at least 14 counties in Alabama were reported as having suffered tornado damage.
On Sunday morning, President Joe Biden declared a major catastrophe in Alabama and authorized federal aid to assist in recovery efforts.
Officials from Autauga County stated that the tornado produced winds of at most 136 mph (218 kph), and caused damage consistent with an EF3, which is two steps below the strongest category of twister. According to county officials, at least 12 people were taken to hospital. More than 40 homes were damaged or destroyed by the tornado. This includes mobile homes that were launched into high air.
Residents described chaotic scenes when the storm whipped towards them. As the winds blew down, people rushed to shelters, tubs and sheds. Five people were found trapped inside a storm shelter by a search team after the wall of a nearby home fell on it.
Downtown Selma sustained severe damage Before the worst of the weather, Georgia moved south of Atlanta. Selma was spared any deaths.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp stated that the state was suffering from the effects of the storm. Troup County was near the Georgia/Alabama line where the most severe reports came in. There were more than 100 houses that were affected.
Kemp stated that a worker from the state transportation department was killed responding to storm damage. A 5-year-old child who was riding in a vehicle was killed by a falling tree in Georgia’s Butts County, authorities said. Spalding County hospital, south of Atlanta, treated at least 12 people. The weather service confirmed that at least two tornadoes had struck.
Johnson, a cafeteria worker in Autauga County said that she was at work when the storm passed directly over her house. Johnson quickly notified her daughter, who was at home with her 2-year old grandson.
“I called my daughter and said, ‘You do not have time to get out, you’ve got to get somewhere now,”’ Johnson said, her voice cracking. “And she said, ’I’m getting in the tub. If the house is messed up I’ll be in the tub area.”
Johnson dropped the call. Johnson kept calling back. When she finally reconnected with her daughter, Johnson said she told her: “The house is gone, the house is gone.”
Johnson explained that Johnson was able to see Johnson after the accident and found her daughter and grandson with minor injuries.
“I brought her home and tried not to let go of her after that,” Johnson said. “I lost a lot of things materialistically and I don’t have insurance but I don’t even care, because my child is all right.
“That’s really all that matters to me.”