Videos record Christmas Tornado strike in Mobile, Alabama

Various videos show the scary Christmas Day Tornado that struck Mobile, Alabama on December 25, 2012. Thankfully, no one was killed or seriously injured by the storm, but it caused quite a bit of damage in the historic Midtown and Dauphin Way areas of the city.

The first is from the surveillance cameras at a Walgreen's store.

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The second video is from the Holiday Inn downtown. The camera is facing south and east and shows the funnel crowd moving through.

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The third video is from a similar angle, also from the Battle House Hotel downtown. The woman recording the video, Crystal Curry, can be heard praying for those in the storm’s path.

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Tornadoes in Mobile are fairly rare. The one that raked the area on Christmas Day came five days after a similar storm struck an area about two miles west.

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Auburn’s Bo Jackson biking to Bama for tornado relief

By: LivingCrimson

This being a Crimson Tide blog, we usually can be found giving Auburn a very hard time. There’s a wee tiny sports feud in Alabama called the Iron Bowl, in case you haven’t heard.

Occasionally, though, along comes a show of character from the opposing camp that everyone can applaud. Enter one of sports all-time greats, Bo Jackson. The Heisman winner and #1 NFL draft pick is putting his considerable muscle behind a relief effort to benefit those in need after the April 2011 tornadoes in Alabama.

Beginning April 24th, 2012, Jackson will be cycling across the State of Alabama through towns and cities ravaged by the tornadoes, ending in Tuscaloosa on April 28th. He hopes to raise $1 million for the Governor's Emergency Relief Fund, which was established to help Alabamians with unmet recovery needs. A staggering $1.2 billion is still needed for the long-term recovery effort.

Sponsored by Nike, Trek and other industry leaders, Jackson also wants to refocus the nation’s spotlight on the continuing rebuilding efforts in the State. The federal government declared Alabama a Category 1 natural disaster ─ the same ranking given to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and the terrorism on 9/11 ─ but the vast scope of the tornado devastation is hard to understand without a visual impact. Jackson will video and photograph each area he travels through to remind us all that much work remains to be done.

Kudos to Bo Jackson for giving back to his home state.

 

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Donations to Jackson’s relief effort are handled through the United Way of Alabama here.

Bo Bikes for Bama is also accepting donations of $200 per each leg of the journey to ride along with Bo Jackson. Register and donate online here.

For Tuscaloosa relief efforts, donations to Tuscaloosa Habitat for Humanity can be made here.

Donations to the Nick and Terry Saban Foundation ─ Nick’s Kids 14 for 14 ─ can be made here.

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I would love to hear about your thoughts on this article. Post comments to LivingCrimson on Twitter or Facebook.

Non-Sports: Tornado Alley

This image is from Reed Timmer’s Facebook page. Timmer is a meteorologist who stars in the reality show, Storm Chasers. When one thinks of the frequency of deadly tornadic activity, the conventional wisdom is that most of the deadliest storms are found in the midwest and plains area of the U.S. While that area is active, the deadliest storms actually occur in an area much farther east and south.

The April 2011 breakout of tornadoes in Alabama that killed hundreds and devastated towns across the north central regions of Alabama were historically bad, but they also occurred in a historically active area of the country.

The hotspot is an area spanning from southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas through the delta area of western Tennessee, and into the northern parts of Mississippi and Alabama. But there’s real danger in the entire state of Oklahoma, and it ranges all the way north to the Great Lakes south to Louisiana and all the way east into the Georgia mountains.

nota bene: This is a measure of “killer” tornadoes, not necessarily intensity. You have to wonder if this is a phenomenon caused by having more people living in a dangerous area or if this is an area that just gets hit harder.

Helmet tap to Rufus at CCC.

Heroes of the Storms: Robert Brown, City of Tuscaloosa

From the 05/04/11 Unified Press briefing held by Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.  He tells Brown’s story beginning at about the 1:30 mark.

These are the kinds of people who are part of the herculean response of local and state officials to the devastating storms of last week.

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How many people are really missing in Alabama?

This post is not meant to begrudge or question the judgment of Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, who has been an outstanding voice of reason and calm in the face of incredible human suffering and loss. Nor is it meant to question the capabilities of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, which has one of the best command and response structures in the country.

But there is an apparent disconnect between what the City of Tuscaloosa and Alabama EMA are telling the public about the number of people missing or unaccounted for following the devastating tornadoes of April 27.

From The Crimson and White:

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The city has confirmed 39 deaths, 455 missing people and more than 1,000 injuries, said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox in a press conference Sunday afternoon.

The names of the 39 confirmed deaths in the city and county were released during the press conference.

The city has removed 123 names from the list of missing people because they have been located or identified as a duplicate of a person already listed.

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But from the Alabama EMA’s latest Situation Report (SitRep #10):

 

I am not accusing either the City of Tuscaloosa or the State of Alabama of lying or intentionally suppressing information. My guess is that there is simply a disconnect in either how the two entities define “missing persons” or in how they communicate important information to the public.

This kind of disconnect is not supposed to happen under a well operated Incident Command System (ICS). Under ICS protocol, consistent information based on the best available information should be provided.

Having one entity report only eight missing—not even including Tuscaloosa County among those reporting missing persons—and having the other state in numerous public statements that the number of missing is in the hundreds is something that needs to be addressed.

Someone needs to ask the EMA Public Information Officer and the Mayor’s office why these two numbers are so vastly different, and what will be done to reconcile the information they provide to the public.

This is not a small matter, either.

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Chilling Before and After Imagery in Tuscaloosa and Jefferson Counties

All imagery is courtesy of Google Earth. You can obtain high resolution versions of these images here and here.

Alberta City Before:

 

Alberta City After:

Forest Lake Before:

Forest Lake After:

Concord Before:

Concord After:

Pleasant Grove Before:

Pleasant Grove After:

 

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Incredible Aerial Footage of Alabama Tornado Damage

ABC 33/40’s Bill Castle spent most of yesterday flying around the Alabama damage centers of Wednesday’s deadly tornado outbreak, and returned with some truly incredible footage. In some of these videos, you will see a swath of destruction as much as three-quarters of a mile wide, and stretching for miles on end.

 

The paths of destruction are mind-boggling. I haven’t seen any of this firsthand, but watching some of this footage brings back memories of Hurricanes Andrew, Ivan, Katrina and Rita. Entire towns are obliterated. Even well built structures are damaged or destroyed.

My day job company is one of many FEMA and US Army Corps of Engineers advance contractors for various Emergency Support Functions (ESF’s). We are typically one of the first private sector contractors on the scene, handling everything from temporary housing to debris removal to infrastructure damage assessments. However, we aren’t mobilized until the search and rescue missions have been completed.  Those are obviously still ongoing, and they might be for some time to come.

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NASA GOES Animation of the 4/27/11 Storm System

Watch how this thing explodes as sunlight hits the atmosphere, heating the moisture and adding energy to it as it sweeps east and north.  Use the fullscreen mode for best results.

UPDATE: Grunged video fixed (I hope).

The devastation across the southeast is EPIC. There are hundreds dead and the death toll is expected to rise sharply. There are hundreds more injured, many still missing, and thousands likely homeless.

There are many ways you can help.

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A STATE OF MOURNING – YOU CAN HELP!

Mother nature dealt the State of Alabama a cruel hand on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. It may be the worst known outbreak of tornadoes in recorded history. As emergency personnel search the rubble in counties across the northern part of the state, the death toll continues to rise. At least 145 are confirmed dead. Hundreds more are injured and an unknown number are still missing.

Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to tangled masses of debris.

The needs are great—many people have lost everything.

You can help.

Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation, or visit this site.

Go to your nearest Red Cross and donate blood.

Volunteers are needed. They’re needed in Birmingham, too.

Donations of nonperishable goods are being accepted (1530 McFarland Blvd N).

Please help find missing people.

If you’d like to help with the cleanup in Tuscaloosa, please contact Nancy Green at 205-561-4169.

DeKalb County is in need of 8kw to 10kw Generators. Contact the county EMA if you can provide one or more.

Stay off the streets! I know—The damage is incredible and you’re curious. But emergency and response personnel don’t need to be navigating around gaggles of sightseers.

ATPB has a page of resources up.

Kids Kottage is heading to Tuscaloosa and needs help from Mobile. accepting diapers, formula, baby food, and childrens clothing; bottled water and enerygy bars for rescue workers.

They are at 1781 Dawes Road and their number is (251) 633-0000.

If you know of any other ways people are reaching out, email me, drop me a comment, or catch me on Twitter and Facebook.

 

As you can see from the map below, more than half the state has been affected.

 

Video: Stormchasers catch deadly tornado near Tuscaloosa

WKRG.com News

In what will surely be one of the deadliest days in modern Alabama history, storms tore through the state yesterday, reducing homes and businesses to rubble and killing at least 128 people in 16 counties in Alabama and at least 173 across the southeast.

This video was captured in Tuscaloosa County as the storm ripped through.

Please pray for the lost and their loved ones.

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The Storms of 04-24-10

The image below is from a GIS application I've developed called StormWatch, using the Open Source GIS platform called MapWindow. The blue, diagonal polygon highlights the path taken by yesterday's tornadoes. These storms have killed at least 10 people and caused millions in damage. Click the image for a larger view.