Cleanup Underway After Violent Storms

Storm recovery is underway across West Alabama and the state. Residents are cleaning up, power crews are restoring electricity, cable tv lines are being restrung, tree crews are removing downed trees, EMAs are assessing damage, and National Weather Service in Birmingham has survey teams in the field collecting information about yesterday's storms across West and Central Alabama.

Red Cross teams are also in the field assisting those who received damage, attempting to find temporary housing and provide food vouchers.

Chainsaws can be heard all across the area and blue tarps are popping up on homes as the cleanup process hits high gear today.

Besides the damage, there are families mourning the loss of loved ones today.

Two fatalities were counted in Alabama among the 35 listed so far from Saturday's outbreak of violent tornadoes and extreme thunderstorms from Kansas to the southeast.

Damage in West Alabama was reported in Gordo in Pickens County, Sipsey in Walker County, and Lake Tuscaloosa in Tuscaloosa County. At least four other locations in the state reported damage, including on Country Road 63 in Plantersville, on the Dallas/Chilton County line. That is where a man sheltering with his wife in a workshop died and the body of a woman who had been living in a mobile home was found some 3/4's of a mile from her trailer.

In Tuscaloosa County, extensive damage was done to the Pier 43 boat dock and gas station on Highway 43 near Lake Tuscaloosa. Property along and near Tierce Patton from U.S. 43 eastward were littered with downed trees and some roof damage.

In Walker County, two individuals were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Several roofs were ripped off and hundreds of trees downed.

There were two other injuries reported near Plantersville and multiple homes were destroyed or severely damaged, according to Toya Stiles Director of the Dallas County Emergency Management Agency.

Considerable damage was also reported in Calera in Shelby County, Talladega in Talladega County, Maplesville in Chilton County, and Troy in Pike County. The Talladega twister left considerable damage behind, including Winterboro High School and Talladega College. That is where 83-year-old Harry Leon Fain, was killed when his mobile home was destroyed.

Just over 5,000 power customers remain without electricity this afternoon but only several hundred of those are in West Alabama according to the U.S. Power Outage Map.

It will take a couple of days for emergency management teams to complete damage assessments, but Pickens County EMA Director Likitha Bell told Tuscaloosa Thread initial assessments reveal four properties were total losses in Gordo but most of the damage was to trees, power lines and outbuildings, including chicken houses.

National Weather Service Meteorological survey teams are fanning out to conduct studies of storm strength, size and path today and over the next few days. Teams will be in West Alabama Monday.

State EMA officials credit the National Weather Service, county EMA's, broadcast stations for doing such an effective job in preparing the public for the significant severe weather threat. The public is also getting a pat on the back for taking needed safety precautions, including many businesses closing Saturday.

Damage and casualties were also limited because none of the tornadoes directly struck a major city.

The massive storm system earned an unusual “high risk” designation from the Storm Prediction Center and is still pummeling the east coast today.

(Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa will continue to cover the recovery process as the area is expecting clear skies to assist that effort this week.)