Stormy Weather

[Shalon Casbin]

So I am in Alabama, Birmingham to be exact. An F-4 or F-5 at least mile wide tornado struck here yesterday in the late afternoon. Early morning a few tornadoes came through, and we spent 5am-8am in the basement. Schools started late and were forced to send students home at 10:30 due to the large tornado coming later.

 

Family in Mississippi had the barn collapse on the tractor, lots of trees are down. Friends and family in Mississippi and Alabama have lost their homes, we have people staying with us now. The death count this morning after the early morning and night of storms is currently 208 just in this state. President Obama is flying in tomorrow and the Nation Guard has been called in.

 

It looks like a bomb went off in the northern part of town...houses that used to be there are just gone now. Tuscaloosa got hit where Alabama University is located...the businesses along the main road aren't there anymore. A friend texted me a picture earlier of her house, its sitting on its side crushed, the foundation the only thing left of where it used to be.

 

It's estimated near 1,000,000 people are without power state wide, and we were not the only state hit, although our death tolls are the highest. Power to parts of the state are expected to be out for anywhere between 7 and 14 days. Gas stations are all closed due to the destruction, and no one can get gas to leave or go search. The gas stations around my house sold out of gas late today. Some people in the smaller towns are stuck without gas stations or open food stores, due to them having no power.

 

I have never seen anything like this, and I hope I never do again. I'm checking in to say I am okay, and here; but I'll be traveling back and forth to Mississippi soon and will be slightly inactive. Please keep us in your thoughts, they are still searching for the dead and haven't begun the clean up yet, it's looking like this is going to be a very long recovery process.

[Rasheta Ardashir]

Wow i'm glad to hear your okay don't worry about DM take care!