It was a night of fear they won’t forget, and daylight revealed just how much many had lost. Yet as the scope of the devastation dawned, the unbelief mingled with great relief, and survivors shared gratitude for one thing: They’re still here.
GOVERNOR ASKS PRESIDENT FOR AID
Gov. Nathan Deal said Thursday he asked President Barack Obama for a federal emergency declaration for Georgia. At a news conference in Atlanta after surveying the damage from tornadoes that killed 15 people, Deal said the president asked him to express his sympathy to Georgians who lost loved ones or must rebuild homes, businesses and lives.
“Our foremost thoughts are with families who have lost loved ones and friends,” Deal said. “Our efforts now will be to put lives back together, to put businesses and homes back together as quickly as possible.”
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said all 15 members of Georgia’s congressional delegation have signed a letter also asking Obama to declare an emergency, the first step toward federal dollars flowing toward recovery.
In Meriwether County, one of 16 counties Deal declared in a state of emergency, Charlie English, head of Georgia Emergency Management, said he had no estimate of the property damage, but said, “it’s going to be a long haul.”
--------------------
STORM NUMBERS
52,000
Number of people without electrical service statewide Thursday afternoon.
1,300
Number of Georgia Power customers in Atlanta without power Thursday.
1,000
Number of workers Georgia Power dispatched to the northwest corner of the state.
16
Number of counties in which Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency.
30 miles
Distance that one of eight tornadoes that ripped across Lamar and three other Georgia counties traveled, as confirmed by the National Weather Service.
150 mph
Wind speeds of a tornado that authorities say crossed Dade and Walker counties.
--------------------
ROOF FLEW, BUT FINE CHINA STAYED PUT
Jerry Moncrief, his wife, daughter and grandson huddled in their den as the twister passed over Manchester. He heard the roof leave the house: “It sounded like a stick of dynamite,” and in 10 seconds the tornado was gone.
The Moncriefs huddled in the den, the only room left with a ceiling, and waited until morning.
They discovered that the walls of their sitting room were gone but their great-grandmother’s china cabinet, full of gold-edged Lenox dishes, sat undisturbed in the wreckage. Said sister-in-law Patsy McCain, “God brought us through this.”
--------------------
HE BUILT IT; STORM TOOK IT
“I built this by hand,” Sidney Ford said. “I touched every board in here.” But Thursday, as he and his wife walked amid pieces of roofing tin that dangled from tree branches and draped fences along Padlock Mountain Road in Floyd County, the house he had built, the house they’d been torn from, was nowhere in sight.
Ford, 49, walked among what remnants of his home hadn’t been flung into Big Cedar Creek or along Jim Shack Road. Ford said he and his wife ran to the bathroom and started praying right before the storm hit. That corner of the house is the only part that wasn’t turned into a skylight. “This is the most craziest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Ford said. “I thank God that I’m here.”
--------------------
SCHOOL TORN; TESTS SAVED
Parts of Manchester and Warm Springs were still without power Thursday, and the interior of Mountain View Elementary School in Manchester was in shadow, except where the roof had peeled off in sections. A soggy library sat under a shattered skylight, and insulation and ceiling tiles were scattered through the hallways.
Wednesday night, as rain poured through the roof, school superintendant Carol Lane and helpers removed test booklets students had already completed in the state-mandated CRCT. They were taken for safekeeping to the her Greenville office. In a visit Thursday, Gov. Nathan Deal said, “I’m sure the children appreciate not having to take that test again.”
--------------------
STRONG STORMS, STRONG PEOPLE
The number of tornadoes and the attitude of survivors made an impression on Gov. Nathan Deal. “We think it is around 11 separate tornadoes that crossed our state yesterday,” he said. “That alone is very, very unusual. The width of the swath they cut ... was extremely large as well.”
Deal also said he was struck by the words of a Dade County man afterward. “I said, ‘This is really a terrible day,’ ” Deal said. “He said, ‘Oh, no it’s ?not.’ ” The man pointed to a building the storm flattened. The man’s son and daughter had been inside when the tornado came. “And, he said, ‘It’s a good day, because my family survived,’ ” Deal said.
--------------------
THEY HELD; HOUSE DIDN'T
Dawn Howard, 36, was looking at the scattered pieces of her Manchester home and marveling that she, her husband and their four children survived the evening. All huddled under sofa cushions as the tornado ripped off the roof and pushed the walls over on top of them. Thursday, volunteers and friends worked to clear the wreckage. “Our dryer is in a pasture across the street and the children have a playhouse that’s a mile away,” said Howard. All six received nothing but scratches. One child said, “Want to see my boo-boo?”
--------------------
NO TAN, BUT NO COMPLAINT
A Trenton salon owner and her daughters rode out a deadly storm by taking shelter in an unlikely place: a tanning bed. Lisa Rice says she noticed dark skies and flying debris downtown late Wednesday before she and her daughters, ages 19 and 21, jumped into the tanning bed and closed it to shield themselves. They felt air rushing overhead and heard the salon’s roof peel off. About 30 seconds later, it was over.
Rice says the business just opened three weeks ago and she doesn’t have insurance. But she’s simply glad she survived and that her daughters are safe. Their names — no kidding — are Stormy and Sky.
--------------------
‘OVER IN 10 SECONDS’
June Lawrence was listening to the weather with her husband, Phil, who’s been in a wheelchair 40 years. The report didn’t say Warm Springs, but she wheeled him into the laundry room. Once the storm passed, that was the only room that still had four walls . “It was over in 10 seconds,” she said Thursday “I heard the train sound ... and it just happened. It sucked the whole top off the house. I’m thankful,” she said. “I know I can replace material things, but I can’t replace life.”
--------------------
STATE PARK DAMAGED
A large group campsite at Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park was so damaged it probably won’t be functional for months, said Ronnie Eakins, region manager for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ parks division. The wind blew bark off trees before toppling them, and tossed a walk-in cooler outside. No injuries were reported, though, and park users need not stay away, Eakins said.
Staff and wire reports
About the Author
