April 27^th, History made in Alabama

Well internet is back at full speed and the past few months have brought some of the most dangerous yet humbling experiences of my life. On April 27, 2011, Alabama was nearly ripped apart by the most destructive EF 4 and EF 5 tornados in state recorded history. This southeastern storm coined, “April’s Fury” took with it the homes of over 20,000 residents leaving a death toll of more than 200 in its wake. With all the new technology of communication you can see how the state was better prepared for the largest and most violent storm in history. Many storms will come through Alabama during the spring but we are usually on alert for one tornado. Never have I seen a tornado affect this state in so many different areas. When Alabamians wake up in the morning we beg for warm weather and tons of rain each spring. All your social networking websites are littered with comments about wanting rain. This was the same old routine until people saw how devastating this storm was going to be. In the end what this disaster seemed to invoke was an overwhelming sense of compassion and awareness from the kayaking community. “We do continue to hope and pray for rain in the south, but not at the expense of others.”

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Here is a list of some great videos of the tornadoes from different regions of the state.

Great video of tornado- http://youtu.be/5ohIVzIZLuQ

Video of 3d T-Town tornado- http://youtu.be/bZ6YHalU0SQ

Video Tuscaloosa with heart in pink at beginning- http://youtu.be/XJSrfNebiDY

Video Tuscaloosa with tons of paper in tornado- http://youtu.be/9KjWtBrEYHY

Video Tuscaloosa man so scared he could not breath- http://youtu.be/9M_mcOL99qA

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Here is a radar graph of all the spots that were hit. After the tornado was over, I found a paycheck from a teacher at the University of Alabama. This paycheck was from 1969.

The clean up began the next day. Some cities such as Pleasant Grove have been completely destroyed besides the few streets that were spared. One thing that most people do not realize is how many looters come out of the woodworks to steal stuff. This was more true in Pleasant Grove at my parents house that most anywhere. My Dad actually caught a group of guys stealing stuff from homes and had them arrested. And yes he got to pull his gun. He was interviewed by the newspaper and was given a State Troopers coin for his hard work. In this town my Dad took some pictures to give you an idea of how bad the damage was. Here are a few of the good ones. Think about a 2 x 4 being through a tree, a hubcap cutting through tree or pine needles getting put through brick. That is some amazing power.

With all the destruction that has happened here please make sure to google pictures and look at it. There are plenty of places to donate money to help with the great cause of restoring Alabama. My heart goes out to Cullman, Tuscaloosa, Blountsville, Fultondale, Pratt City and Pleasant Grove. The one thing that makes me smile in all of the spring madness is seeing the kayaking community and volunteers that took time of work to help people that had their lives flipped upside down.

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