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THINKING, YOU KNOW, WE’RE IN A RING OF DANTE’S HELL, THE SMELL WAS HORRIBLE EVERYWHERE. THERE’S DESTRUCTION COMMUNITIES RALLY TOGETHER. WE ACTUALLY CARRIED PEOPLE OUT OF GLASGOW HOLLER ON DOORS LIKE AFTER APRIL 27TH, 2011 WHEN 62 TORNADOES LEFT A PATH OF DESTRUCTION THROUGH, ALABAMA. WE COULDN’T BELIEVE IT WAS HAPPENING WHEN IT ACTUALLY DID FROM A HUMAN STANDPOINT. THAT WAS PROBABLY THE WORST DAY ALABAMA HAS EVER HAD MORE THAN 200 LIVES LOST COUNTLESS OTHERS HURT SHORTLY AFTER THAT. I SAW SEVERAL CLIENTS THAT WERE TRAUMATIZED BY THE TORNADO FAMILIES FORCED TO START OVER SOME WITH NOTHING. MANY WITHOUT LOVED ONES THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT. LIVED THROUGH THIS TORNADO AND THERE WAS NOTHING WE COULD DO ABOUT IT 10 YEARS. LATER A LOT OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE 2011 A LOT OF GOOD THINGS COMMUNITIES CONTINUE REBUILDING IT LOOKS 100% THERE AFTER THE TORNADO WE ENDED. UP PAR AND STRONGER AND READY FOR WHATEVER COMES OUR WAY �������� 13 CHRONICLE PRESENTS RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE. WELCOME EVERYONE. THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US. I’M LISA CRANE. WE ARE MARKING A DECADE SINCE OUR STATE CHANGED FOREVER APRIL 27TH, 2011 THE LARGEST COSTLIEST AND ONE OF THE DEADLIEST TORNADO OUTBREAKS IN HISTORY, THE TWISTERS KILLED HUNDREDS DESTROYED COMMUNITIES AND FORCED FAMILIES FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO RELOCATE AND THAT WE STILL MOURN OUR LOSSES. WE ARE CELEBRATING HOW FAR WE’VE COME OVER THE LAST DECADE. REBUILDING OUR COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS TO PREPARING SAFETY PLANS AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE WHAT WE NEED TO SURVIVE SEVERE WEATHER. WE’RE GOING TO START AND ONE OF THE AREAS HARDEST HIT WHERE WE SAW MOST OF THE DAMAGE AND RIGHT HERE IN TUSCALOOSA PARTS OF THE REGION WERE LEVELED IN WHAT’S NOW KNOWN AS ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE DAYS IN ALABAMA SEVERE WEATHER HISTORY AND EF-4 TORNADO TRAVELED FROM THE DRUID CITY ALL THE WAY TO THE MAGIC CITY. THAT’S ABOUT 58 MILES HERE ON THE LEFT ROSEDALE COURTS. JUST AFTER THE TORNADO HIT, BUT YOU PROBABLY DON’T EVEN RECOGNIZE THE HOUSING COMMUNITY. IT IS BEEN REDUCED TO JUST PILES OF DEBRIS THE VIDEO ON THE RIGHT. IT’S WHAT LOOKS LIKE TODAY YOU CAN SEE IT’S BEEN TOTALLY ADULTS LEADING UP TO THAT DAY THE NATIONAL WEATHER. SERVICE WARNED TUSCALOOSA WOULD MOST LIKELY BE HIT BY A TORNADO, BUT EVEN KNOWING THAT WHO COULD HAVE BEEN PREPARED FOR WHAT WOULD HAPPEN HERE THAT DAY WHEN YOU WHAT WAS COMING WE CERTAINLY COULDN’T IMAGINE IT WOULD BE LIKE THE HAND OF GOD SLAM DOWN ON OUR CITY. THIS WAS THE SOBERING REALITY FOR TUSCALOOSA RESIDENTS. YOU KNOW THE FIRST TIME I SAW IT IT JUST LITERALLY TOOK ALL THE OXYGEN OUT OF ME NOT ONLY THE SCENE OF DESTRUCTION. I’D NEVER SEEN DESTRUCTION LIKE THIS. TO SEE PEOPLE BLE. TRYING TO TAKE THEMSELVES INTO THE HOSPITAL COMMUNICATIONS WERE DOWN MAYOR WALT MADDOX WAS IN HIS SECOND TERM BACK IN 2011. AND AS YOU LOOKED AT THE DEBRIS PILE AND EVERYONE’S CLAWING THROUGH IT. THEY DON’T HAVE ANY PROTECTED GEAR ON THEY’RE JUST TRYING TO GET TO THIS FIVE YEAR OLD GIRL NOW IN HIS 15TH YEAR AS MAYOR THE APRIL 27TH TORNADO AND IT’S AFTERMATH HAS DEFINED HIS TENURE IF YOU LOST YOUR LOVE A LOVED ONE OR YOU LOST YOUR BUSINESS OR YOU LOST YOUR HOME THE DEFINING OF RECOVERY IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, BUT WE HAD BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF DAMAGE FROM OUR STANDPOINT WE RECEIVED ABOUT 130 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF FUNDING TO REBUILD A LOT OF BAD INFRASTRUCTURE. WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO SUCCEED AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAS DONE A FANTASTIC JOB. HE SAYS THE RECOVERY IS STILL ONGOING BUT THE HELP FROM THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEERS RESIDENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS OVER THE LAST DECADE HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE. NOT ONE TIME DURING THAT AMAZING JOURNEY, WHICH WAS SO DIFFICULT. DID WE EVER FEEL ALONE? AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT I’LL NEVER FORGET FOLKS. THE COMMUNITIES ALL ACROSS ALABAMA ALSO REMEMBER THAT DIFFICULT JOURNEY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. IN HACKLEBURG AND EF-5 TORNADO DEVASTATED THE SMALL TOWN OF 1500 KILLING 18 PEOPLE THE WINDS RAGED AT ABOUT 210 MILES AN HOUR TOSSING CARS UP TO 200 YARDS AND DESTROYING THE WRANGLER JEANS PLANT THAT PLANT HAS SINCE REOPENED AND SO HAS HACKLEBURG HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH YOU MAY REMEMBER WAS SHUTTERED FOR NEARLY FOUR YEARS BECAUSE OF THE TORNADO DAMAGE THE SCHOOL USED PORTABLE. CLASSROOMS AND ALTERNATE LOCATIONS BEFORE MOVING INTO A NEW BUILDING TODAY CITY OFFICIALS. SAY THE MARION COUNTY TOWN IS ABOUT 75 TO 80 PERCENT BACK TO WHERE IT WAS BEFORE THE TORNADOES, BUT THEY’RE STILL STRUGGLING TO HOUSING IN THE AREA. IN BIRMINGHAM THE PRATT CITY COMMUNITY WAS HIT HARD. THIS SMALL TIGHT KNIT NEIGHORHOOD SAW A LOT OF LOSS. BUT SINCE THEN NEIGHBORS HAVE COME TOGETHER AND COME BETTER THAN BEFORE. IT LOOKED LIKE A BOMB HAD JUST WENT OUT. I MEAN, IT’S UNDESCRIBABLE, YOU KNOW. SEE IT ON TV AND YOU’LL BE LIKE, OH THAT LOOKS BAD. BUT UNTIL YOU SEE IT IN PERSON. IT’S LIKE IT’S UNDESCRIBABLE. THAT’S SOMETHING WE CAN ALL ATTEST TO AS HORRIFIC AS THE PICTURES AND VIDEO ARE IN PERSON. THE DESTRUCTION WAS MUCH WORSE MICHELLE PERKINS SURVIVED IN HER PRATT CITY HOMES BASEMENT WITH HER CHILDREN THREE MINUTES SEEMED LIKE IT WAS LIKE 30 MINUTES. I MEAN IT WAS WE COULD HEAR THE HOUSE TEARING UP WE CAN FEEL IT. WE WERE ROCKING AND WHEN WE CAME OUT WE WALKED US AND WE CAN SEE THE SKY HER HOME WAS A TOTAL LOSS, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE MAIN CONCERN ON APRIL 27TH. WE COULD HEAR PEOPLE HIGHLAND AND AT THAT TIME ALL THE TEENAGERS AND YOUNG ADULTS RAN DOWN THE BIG HILL THIS HILL AND STARTED RESCUING PEOPLE. THEY CAME UP AND SAID THAT MY AUNT BESSIE THEY COULDN’T FIND HER. SO WE STARTED LOOKING FOR BESSIE BREWSTER DIED IN THE STORM. SHE WAS 72 HER HOUSE WAS OBLITERATED. THERE WAS NO A PLACE FOR HER THERE NOW 10 YEARS LATER PRATT CITY LOOKS MUCH DIFFERENT. WE REBUILT HOUSES AND THEY WERE BETTER THAN THEY WERE WITH THE TORNADO CAME. WE GOT SAFER ROOMS BECAUSE OF IT. SO NOW THAT IF WE HAVE TORNADOES WE HAVE SOMEWHERE TO GO TO BE SAFE. WE STILL GOT WORK TO DO BUT IT LOOKS MUCH BETTER AND WE’RE TRYING TO MAKE IT MUCH BETTER. SOUTH OF PARRISH IN THE VESTAVIA HILLS COMMUNITY OF CAHABA HEIGHTS AND EF2 TORNADO BARREL THROUGH JUST BEFORE SIX IN THE MORNING ON APRIL 27TH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. ORIGINALLY REPORTED DAMAGE DUE TO STRAIGHT LINE WINDS THEN CHANGE THE CAUSE TO A TORNADO WIND SPEEDS REACHED 120 MILES AN HOUR TREES WERE TORN DOWN ALL OVER THE AREA IF YOU DRIVE THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOODS NOW, YOU CAN SEE THE PREENED YARDS BUSINESSES BUSTLING EVEN SOME CONSTRUCTION ALONG ROADWAYS SIGNS OF A COMMUNITY ADJUSTING OVER THE PAST DECADE. THE APRIL 27TH SUPER STORM WAS A RARE OCCURRENCE IN MANY WAYS FOR ONE METEOROLOGISTS SAY IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE EVENT. OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE STORM TO STRENGTHEN OR WEAKEN AND EVERY TIME IT GOT STRONGER AND DEADLIER. IT WAS A GENERATIONAL EVENT CONDITIONS ALIGNED PERFECTLY TO CREATE A SUPERSTORM THAT SPAWNED DOZENS OF TORNADOES OVER A 24-HOUR PERIOD METEOROLOGISTS AROUND THE STATE COULD TELL IN A DAYS LEADING UP TO APRIL 27TH THAT IT WOULD BE HISTORIC. I WAS PHYSICALLY GETTING NAUSEOUS ABOUT TWO DAYS IN ADVANCE KNOWING JUST HOW BAD IT WAS GOING TO BE AND I THINK THE ULTIMATE THOUGHT OF BE MAN AND WOMAN IN THE WEATHER SERVICE WAS ARE WE GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT? ARE WE ARE PEOPLE HEARING THIS TODAY? TRULY UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS UNFOLDING SITUATION 10 YEARS AGO. JIM STEFKOVICH WAS THE METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM WHEN WE ACTUALLY SAW THAT MILE WIDE WEDGE TORNADO ON THE GROUND GOING THROUGH TUSCALOOSA. EVERYBODY REALIZED IT’S HAPPENING. PEOPLE ARE DYING. IT TOOK A VERY MUCH EMOTIONAL TOLL ON EVERYONE WHEN THE DEATH SETTLED. IT WAS A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JOB TO SURVEY THE DAMAGE AND IT WAS A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING FOR THE YOU DO TORNADOES THAT PASS THROUGH THE STATE IF YOU TOOK EVERY TRACK AND PUT AN END TO END. IT WAS 1300 MILES THAT’S LIKE DRIVING FROM BIRMINGHAM TO BOSTON. THAT’S HOW MUCH TORNADO DAMAGE OCCURRED SINCE THEN MANY HAVE ASKED WITH DAYS OF ADVANCE NOTICE. WHY WAS ABLE 27TH SO DEADLY THE ANSWER JUST THE SHEER STRENGTH OF THE TORNADOES SEVERAL WERE EF-4S AT EF-5 BRINGING WINDS OF MORE THAN 200 MILES AN HOUR AND THEY HIT IN POPULATED AREAS METEOROLOGISTS HAVE WORKED TO REFINE THE WARNING SYSTEM TO REDUCE FALSE ALARMS AND ZERO IN ON THE DANGER ZONE. SO ALABAMIANS DON’T GET APATHETIC WHEN THEY HEAR THERE’S NATO WARNING IN THEIR AREA THE WARNINGS HAVE GOTTEN BETTER. SO WHEN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS USED A WARNING PEOPLE KNOW YOU BETTER TAKE IT SERIOUSLY BECAUSE SOMETHING IS LIKELY GOING TO HAPPEN. APRIL 27TH IS A DAY. NO FORECASTER WILL FORGET BUT STEPH KOVICH SAYS HE COULDN’T BE MORE PROUD OF HIS TEAM AND THEIR EFFORT WITH SOMETHING DISASTROUS IS HAPPENING. EVERYBODY PULLS TOGETHER AND I NEVER SAW THE DEDICATION FROM THE MEN AND WOMEN IN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE THAT I SAW THAT DAY. THERE WERE SO MANY TORNADOES WHEN THEY CAME IN WAVES THERE WAS A MORNING WAVE SO TO SPEAK AND THEN AFTERNOON WAVE A SEVERE WEATHER EVENT LIKE NO OTHER IT BECAME EVIDENT AND JUST CLEAR THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT THE �������� WEATHER TEAM REFLECTING ON THAT DEADLY DAY ALL OF US WERE GETTING TOGETHER TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE IT LOOKED BAD AND WHEN THEY KNEW IT WAS TAKING A TURN FOR THE WORST PLUS SEEKING SHELTER FROM COMMUNITY SAFE GUARDS. WE ACTUALLY WOULD HAVE WOULD DRIVE TO THE FIREHOUSE TORNADO SHELTER TO RESIDENTIAL. SHELTERS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PLAY AROUND WITH A FAMILY CHOOSING TO BEEF UP THEIR SAFETY PLAN BY INSTALLING A SHELTER IN THEIR OWN YARD. WELCOME BACK EVERYONE ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE THE 62 TORNADOES THAT TOUCHDOWN IN ALABAMA ON APRIL 27TH LEFT 1,300 MILES OF DESTRUCTION. OUR ADRIAN. CASTELLANO IS IN THE STUDIO WITH A LOOK AT THAT FROM SPACE ADRIAN, YOU KNOW LOOKING AT THE DESTRUCTION FROM THE BROWN WAS JUST SURREAL TAKE A LOOK AT THIS HOUSES DESTROYED KNOCKED OFF THEIR FOUNDATIONS TREES SNAPPED AND AS WE GO HIGHER IN THE SKY FROM HELICOPTER, YOU GET A VIEW OF THE ENTIRE SCOPE OF DAMAGE AS THIS POWERFUL EF4 TORNADO CROSSED OVER NEIGHBORHOODS COMPLETELY DESTROYING THEM, BUT MOST INCREDIBLE OF ALL THIS SATELLITE VIEW FROM AFTER THAT DAY. YOU CAN SEE THE TORNADOES SCAR MARKS. WE CALL THEM FROM TUSCALOOSA; JEFFERSON COUNTY THAT EF-4 TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR OVER 80 MILES THE CORDOVA EF-4 TORNADO THERE JUST TO THE NORTH THEN YOU HAVE THE HACKLEBURG EF5 THAT WAS ON THE GROUND FOR OVER 100 MILES ALL IN ALL FROM THIS DAY APRIL 27 2011 OVER 60 TORNADOES OCCURRED ACROSS THE STATE OF ALABAMA. THE ENTIRE �������� 13 WEATHER DEPARTMENT WORKS ON VERY LONG HOURS ON THAT DAY. IT WAS AN EMOTIONAL TIME FOR OUR METEOROLOGIST WHO REALIZED EARLY ON THIS STORM SYSTEM WOULD MAKE HISTORY. I MEAN THOSE MONSTER TORNADOES I REMEMBER THINKING THAT THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT GOING TO SURVIVE THIS TORNADO THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT GOING TO LIVE THROUGH THIS TORNADO AND THERE WAS NOTHING WE COULD DO ABOUT IT. STEPHANIE WALKER SAYS SHE CONCENTRATED ON STAYING FOCUSED AND GETTING THE WORD OUT TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO TAKE SHELTER AS TORNADOES BURROW THROUGH ALABAMA ONE AFTER ANOTHER AFTER ANOTHER HARMONY MENDOZA WAS REPORTING LIVE RIGHT OUTSIDE THE STUDIO ON TOP OF RED MOUNTAIN I HAD TO WATCH THAT MONSTER TEAR APART PEOPLE’S HOUSES AND LIVES AND THEN ACTUALLY SEE IT IN THE DAYS AFTER REPORTING ON IT AND EVERY STORY WAS DIFFERENT. EVERYBODY’S LIVES ARE CHANGED AND THEY’RE THEY’RE FOREVER CHANGED EVEN 10 YEARS LATER AS THE PICTURES AND VIDEO OF DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION STARTED COMING IN. THEY SAY IT WENT FROM SCIENTIFIC TO PERSONAL WHEN YOU SEE ALL THIS DAMAGE AND THEN YOU START HEARING ABOUT THE LOSS OF LIFE AND WHATNOT. IT MAKES YOUR HEART SICK BECAUSE YOU YOU THINK WASN’T THERE SOMETHING MORE I COULD HAVE DONE 10 YEARS HAVE GIVEN SCIENTISTS TIME TO STUDY THE EVENT AND LEARN TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE THEN AS WELL NOW �������� 13 HAS LIVE. RADAR SEEING STORMS IN REAL TIME WITH NO DELAY. THOSE SUPER SALES WERE MOVING 50 TO 60 MILES AN HOUR. SO WHEN YOU’RE TRACKING SOMETHING THAT FAST HAVING A LIVE RADAR IMAGE IS HUGE. IT’S EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TRACK THOSE SUPERCELL TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS LIVE IN IN REAL TIME AND EVERY MINUTE COUNTS NOW WITH OUR �������� 13 LIVE DOPPLER, WE HAVE THIS TECHNOLOGY WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY TRACK DEBRIS BOWLS. DEBRIS SIGNATURES WE CAN SEE IF THERE’S ANYTHING THAT’S SPIRALING IN THE ATMOSPHERE. THAT’S NOT A WATER DROPLET. THAT TECHNOLOGY GIVES YOU MORE INFORMATION AND MORE TIME TO GET INTO YOUR SAFE SPACE SINCE 2011. THERE ARE ALSO MANY MORE SAFE SPACES AVAILABLE FOR ALABAMIANS THE MOST HEARTENING THING WAS SEEING A NEW STORM SHELTER. THAT’S ABOUT A HALF MILE FROM WHERE WE’RE STANDING NOW, SO PEOPLE TOOK ACTION AND THEY’LL BE READY FOR THE NEXT ONE. THE HISTORIC WEATHER EVENT CAUSED MANY PEOPLE TO RETHINK THEIR SAFETY PLAN IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SAFE PLACE IN YOUR OWN HOME. WHERE WILL YOU GO WHEN A WARNING STRIKES MANY MUNICIP? HAVE INSTALLED COMMUNITY STORM SHELTERS, BUT OTHERS HAVE OPTED FOR PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL SHELTERS. THIS 3000 POUND STORM SHELTER MADE OF HALF INCH STEEL IS BRINGING PEACE OF MIND TO WILLIAM LOCKAMY HIS PARISH HOME DOESN’T HAVE A BASEMENT AND HE KNOWS THE DESTRUCTIVE AND DEADLY POWER OF TORNADOES. HE LIVED IN PLEASANT GROVE ON APRIL 27TH, 2011. THAT WAS SIX PEOPLE THAT DIED WITHIN 100 YARDS OF OUR HOUSE. WE ACTUALLY CARRIED PEOPLE OUT OF GO HOLLER ON DOORS BECAUSE THE AMBULANCE IS COULDN’T GET THERE TO THEM THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT. HE CAME THROUGH PLEASANT GROVE AND ASKED IF ANYBODY COULD HELP AND WOULD THEY AND THAT’S THAT’S WHAT WE DID LOCKAMI HAS LIVED THROUGH FOUR TORNADOES IN HIS LIFE AND IS STILL IN AWE OF THEIR POWER AND IMPETUOUS WHIMS YOU’D OPEN REFRIGERATOR AND EVERYTHING COULD STILL BE STACKED JUST LIKE IT WAS IN LIGHT BULBS STILL IN THE IN THE SALEM AND ALL ABOVE DONE THE BULBS WERE BROKE. YEP, THERE WAS WEAPONS THAT HAD THE BARRELS BIT AND THEN THERE WAS CARS THAT HAD TWO BEFORE DROVE. THROUGH THE SIDE OF THE CAR. HE SAYS NOW HE CAN GET INTO HIS SHELTER WITH ABOUT A MINUTE’S NOTICE AND HE’S CONFIDENT. THEY’LL BE SAFE IN THE SHELTER THAT CAN WITHSTAND WINDS OF 250 MILES AN HOUR. PLUS THAT’S AN EF-5 TORNADO. WE’VE HAD, YOU KNOW MORE THAN ONE INSTANCE WHERE THE ONLY LEFT IS THE SHELTER ITSELF AND YOU MIGHT SEE SOME NEIGHBORING HOMES THERE, BUT THE SHELTER THAT’S ANCHORED DOWN. THERE’S ONLY THING LEFT STANDING WEAVER POINTS TO PICTURES OF THEIR SHELTERS STILL INTACT AMIDST THE DEVASTATION OF THE APRIL 27TH TORNADOES LOCKAMY BOUGHT THE LARGEST RESIDENTIAL SHELTER WITH A 16-PERSON CAPACITY TO MAKE SURE HIS NEIGHBORS ARE SAFE AS WELL THE PEOPLE ON EITHER SIDE OF US DO NOT HAVE STORM SHELTERS, AND WE’VE ALREADY TOLD THEM THAT THIS IS YOU KNOW THEIR THEIR WELCOME THEY WILL HAVE KEYS TO IT. AND WE DON’T HAVE TO BE HERE IF WE’RE NOT HERE THEY CAN STILL USE THE SHELTER. THE LOCKAMESE SPENT CLOSE TO $7,000 ON THEIR STORM SHELTER, BUT THEY SAY THE PEACE OF MIND IS WORTH EVERY PENNY AHEAD. WHEN A TORNADO TOOK EVERYTHING FROM A FAMILY FOOD ADDRESS. THEIR FAITH REMAINED GREAT. BELIEVER IN GOD FOR US TO START OVER LATE IN LIFE. TRUE BECOME ONE AND THIS IS THE FACT KEEPING LOVE AT THE LETTER OF THEIR FIGHT BUT FIRST MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. I THINK I SAW 50 PEOPLE IN THE COURSE OF SEVERAL WEEKS MONTHS LIVING THROUGH THE APRIL 27TH TORNADOES EXPECT THAT YOU’RE GONNA HAVE FLASHBACKS OR YOU KNOW BE A LITTLE BIT IRRITABLE OR JUMPY. TEN YEARS LATER MANY SURVIVORS ARE STILL DEALING WITH THE EMOTIONAL EFFECTS �������� 13’S JEFF ELIASOPH. SPOKE WITH TWO OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALSO UN QUALIFIED TO HELP OTHERS DEAL WITH THEIR STRESS. ON APRIL 27TH. 2011 RICHARD YOAKAM BOUGHT GASOLINE AT THE SHELL STATION AT 15TH AND MCFARLAND IN TUSCALOOSA ABOUT AN HOUR LATER. HE TURNED ON THE NEWS THE FIRST NEWSCAST GOES LIKE THEY WERE WERE LIVE ON THE SCENE HERE AT 15TH IN MCFARLAND AT THE SHELL STATION. WHAT WAS GONE STILL VIVIDLY RECALLING I MEAN CARS? TO DO LIKE UP LOOKS LIKE AND THAT THE TRAYS WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR FOLGE AND SOME OF THEM WERE WERE KNOCKED DOWN AND BUILDINGS WERE LEVELED AND JUST LOOK LIKE A WATER ZONE. DECADE LATER YOCUM UNDERSTANDS LINGERING TRAUMA. HE’S NOW THE DIRECTOR OF COUNSELING AT SAMFORD UNIVERSITY. SO IF I COME TO YOU TODAY AND ASK FOR YOUR COUNSEL, YOU’RE YOU IN EFFECT. YOU’RE MY THERAPIST AND I SAY MY GOD, YOU KNOW THERE’S BEEN 10 YEARS AND I’M STILL HAVING NIGHTMARES. IS THAT A SURPRISE TO YOU? ABSOLUTELY NOT YOAKAM HAS HELPED OTHERS SUFFERING FROM PTSD WITH FLASHBACKS AND FEARS THAT COULD RESURFACE ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE TRIGGERING EVENT SUCH AS THIS HE SAYS TALK THERAPY. SOME MEDICINES CAN HELP AND HAVING AN ANCHOR SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU’RE SURE OF THAT YOU CAN HOLD ON TO OF STRENGTH FOR YOU WHETHER IT’S A FAMILY MEMBER OR YOUR YOU KNOW, OR YOUR FACE YOU KNOW FINDING OUT THE YOU KNOW KNOWING THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. IT I CAN WORK AND WE’RE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS. WE ACTUALLY SAW THE TORNADO COMING RIGHT AT US PSYCHOLOGIST, DR. NANCY RUBIN WAS ALSO IN TUSCALOOSA THAT FATEFUL DAY, AND I REMEMBER I ACTUALLY HAD A COLLEAGUE UNDER MY ARM AND SHE WAS LIKE BORROWING IN BECAUSE SHE WAS SO FRIGHTENED WHEN IT WAS COMING WITHIN DAYS OF THE TORNADOES. SHE WENT BACK TO WAR. I THINK I SAW 50 PEOPLE IN THE COURSE OF SEVERAL WEEKS MONTHS. SO I HEARD ALL THEIR STORIES BECAUSE THE FIRST PART OF THIS TREATMENT FOR A RECENT EVENT. IS THAT THEY TELL THE STORY DR. RUBIN A PROFESSOR AT UA STILL HAS TROUBLE WHEN SIREN SOUND AND STORMY WEATHER. SHE’S BEEN TREATING PTSD PATIENTS WITH A SPECIALIZED THERAPY INVOLVING EYE MOVEMENTS BOTH SHE AND COUNSELOR YOKUM AGREE IF ANYONE IS SUFFERING TRAUMA FROM ANY EVENT INCLUDING THE STORMS OF 2011, THEY SHOULD FACE THOSE FEARS. PROCESSES IS CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT, BUT THE REWARDS OR THE BENEFIT. CAN BE OBVIOUSLY LIFE’S CHANGING. NOT EVERYONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO FULLY RECOVER IN THESE PAST 10 YEARS, BUT NO ONE SHOULD FEAR GETTING HELP. THE COUPLE PRAISING THE LORD FOR PROTECTING THEM 10 YEARS AGO. WE GET BEHIND THE CLOSING LAY DOWN AND DIDN’T GET A SCRATCH TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING BETTER TODAY. NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE SORT OF WANTED TO GET TO UP. LIKE YOU KNOW IT’S DIFFICULT TO. POINT EXACTLY WHAT A TORNADO WILL DO ONCE SMITHFIELD ESTATES COUPLE WAS CAUGHT RIGHT IN THE TRACK OF THE APRIL 27TH TWISTER. THANKFULLY. THEY LIVE TO TELL ABOUT IT. THIS WAS NO EMERGENCY. JUST AN URGENT ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION. 7 HERE FAMILY FRIENDS AND BIRMINGHAM FIRE THROWING A PARADE FROM MELVIN JUANITA KENT AND THERE’S SEVEN. AIDS OF LOVE. HOW DID YOU ALL MEET IN THE FIRST PLACE SOON? OH, MAN YOU OH, I DEFINITELY WANT TO KNOW NOW WELL I HAD A FRIEND MET HER BEFORE I DID A BOYFRIEND AND HE COULDN’T GET SO THAT’S GONNA GIVE ME THE NUMBER SO HE GAVE ME THE NUMBER. I ALWAYS TELL BUT THIS PRAT COUPLES LOVE STORY COULD HAVE ENDED APRIL 27TH, 2011. I WAS IN WASHINGTON TV THAT MORNING WHEN HE THAT DON’T NEED TO COME IN THIS WAY. EVEN FROM TUSCALOOSA CLEAN UP HERE. THEY GOT HERE. THEY SAID THEY’RE GONNA JOIN AND GO SMITHFIELD, BUT IT DID NOT IT CAME THIS WAY. THEY MADE A DASH TO THE BATHROOM AND COVERED THEMSELVES WITH CUSHIONS AND WE LAID THERE FOR ABOUT THREE MINUTES. IT WAS ALL THE WHOLE HOUSE. WE’RE GONE AT THE TIME THE KENTS WERE ABOUT 80 YEARS OLD AND THEY ESCAPED WITHOUT A SCRATCH. PRETTY LUCKY ALTHOUGH MS. JUANITA WOULD SAY IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH LUCK. JUST THE BLESSING FROM GOD A YEAR OR SO LATER. THEY REBUILT ON THE SAME PROPERTY. IT WAS SAID, BUT IT WAS GLAD TO BUT WHEN WE REALIZED MANPCOULDN�� FOR US LOOK AT THE HOUSE NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE SORT OF WANTED TO GET TO UP WITH NOTHING LIKE THAT. GOD BIGGER AND BETTER AND OUTSIDE THE NEW HOME STANDS THIS CROSS REMINDING EVERYONE ABOUT OUT THEIR BLESSING AND YOU CASEY HAD NOBODY COULD WALK AWAY FROM THAT. MAN, IT WAS SOMETHING BUT I KNOW WHAT ANSWER YOU MY HELP COME FROM THE LORD SOMETIMES MR. MELVIN’S JOY. THANK YOU JUST BUBBLES OUT AND WITH MS. JUANITA BY HIS SIDE SEND ME. PLENTY TO BE THANKFUL FOR AND THAT WEEKS MONTHS YEARS SINCE THE TORNADOES CENTRAL ALABAMA MEANS HAVE GROWN STRONGER MORE RESILIENT WITH NEW TOOLS TO KEEP THEM SAFE DURING SEVERE WEATHER LIKE �������� 13 LIVE DOPPLER WHEN OUR WEATHER TEAM IS TRACKING TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS EVERY MINUTE COUNTS. THAT’S WHY THE THREE-MINUTE ADVANTAGE IS SO IMPORTANT YOU CAN TRACK STORMS WITH OUR LIVE DOPPLER ON THE �������� 13 APP. THAT’S ALSO WHERE YOU’LL FIND THESE STORIES OF RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE. I’M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR UNIQUE STORIES AND AMAZING PEOPLE HERE IN ALABAMA IF YOU HAVE A CHRONICLE IDEA, LET ME HEAR FROM YOU. YOU CAN EMAIL ME OR SEND ME A MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK UNTIL NEXT TIME. I’M LISA CRANE FOR ETM 13 CH