Ternaders in the Deep South

[Half a Hundred]

Anyone else paying attention to this ongoing weather mess in Dixie? It's about as nasty as anything I can remember seeing or learning about. Is Froz still in Tuscaloosa right now (studying for finals?) Hope he has a nice hidey hole - looks like one's headed right that way now.

[Aldebaran]

To compound the challenges they are facing with the weather, the deep South doesn't have anywhere near the warning system we have in Tornado Alley.

They better have their eyes peeled, because that's their best shot at a warning.

[jk the sooner fan]

i wonder if they sell weather radio's there...

[soonerbub]

Holy **** that hook looks like May 3

weather channel

[SoCaliSooner]

i wonder if they sell weather radio's there...

Who could possibly keep these people from life?

[Half a Hundred]

I was watching a live feed from Tuscaloosa.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ABC-33-40-Main

It looked bad. Like May 3 or Andover, 1991 bad. Multiple vortices, right in the middle of a populated area. Apparently, it tore up a mall and a hospital pretty good.

[Half a Hundred]

Now about to enter downtown Birmingham. For reference: the Birmingham area is about as populous as the Oklahoma City area.

I think comparisons to May 3 are horribly apt.

[SbOrOiNaEnR]

http://twitvid.com/4W6PU

I can do the YouTube thing, but TwitVids I don't know how to embed.

ANYWAY...that's video of Tuscaloosa. For comparison's sake, that IS Bryant-Denney Stadium in the foreground.

[Penguin]

Death toll is 32 and climbing.

[MsProudSooner2]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/215807_10150585353225227_826225226_18331917_739673 3_n.jpg

[Boarder]

Froze is ok, FYI.

[Frozen Sooner]

Yep. I'm good. Power is out at my place.

Here's a video shot from the parking lot of the law school by the guys who run the Bryant-Denny video board.

http://vimeo.com/22970879

[ouwasp]

Terrible news for our Alabama friends.

The rain and cold we've been getting in NE OK is just a mere bother... nothing compared to the unfolding disaster down South.

[olevetonahill]

Yea we;ve had a lot of Rain,hail and a few small naders nothing like that carp

My sister called me the other day and asked" Brother where are ya gonna go if a tornado hits ya? I said Sis I guess Ill just go where ever that mother ****er takes me.;)

[sooner_born_1960]

Glad your ok, Mike.

[sappstuf]

They are saying 173 dead now with 128 of them in Alabama.

J9Oszy_dGJY

[batonrougesooner]

Just spoke to a colleague and friend of mine who's an ER doc in Tuscaloosa. They've had over 600 pts through their ER overnight, several deaths. They're expecting north of 200 dead there alone once this all settles out.

[jk the sooner fan]

thats a big damn tornado.....i wonder how it compares to the one that hit Wichita Falls in the early 80's

[Okla-homey]

Yep. I'm good. Power is out at my place.

Here's a video shot from the parking lot of the law school by the guys who run the Bryant-Denny video board.

http://vimeo.com/22970879

Any talk of ending the school year now? I should think getting the student population out of town would help lighten the load in providing essential and emergency services and getting things put back together.

FWIW, that happened with all three colleges in Charleston shortly after I graduated from the "SC School for Wayward Boys" in the wake of Hurricane Hugo.

[jk the sooner fan]

of Hurricane Hugo.

i went thru Charleston after that - on my way back to Honduras......incredible what that storm did to the area

[Mississippi Sooner]

It was bad. This may be the worst spring the South has ever had as far as tornadoes. At least none of these finished knocking my office flat to the ground. I think the owner of the company was kinda hoping it would. Just get the place totaled, no questions asked.

The one that killed the three women in Kemper County, MS went right by my mom's house, though. She said she knew that sound the instant she heard it.

[Lott's Bandana]

i went thru Charleston after that - on my way back to Honduras......incredible what that storm did to the area


I was living in Charleston then. I lost a pickup truck and the corner of my house to flying Loblolly Pine trees. The eye of the storm went over our neighborhood and people came out to survey the damage, not realizing that when the eye-wall returns it doesn't start slowly, it is an instant wall of 200mph wind.

Hugo was more powerful than Andrew and much more powerful than Katrina, but the SF Earthquake happened shortly after Charleston was hit and the country's focus turned away.

The Red Cross and Navy Relief did a tremendous job of helping out. We had two girls in diapers and no power, so the Navy put my family in base housing and fed them at the mess hall for two weeks until power was restored in my civilian neighborhood. I was always grateful for this, as I had to to go to sea for 3 months, 4 days after the hurricane hit.

[EnragedOUfan]

Its just crazy how many deaths happened due to this tornado. We did not have near that many deaths on May 3rd.....Of course, Oklahoma is home to the tornado and we have awesome meteorologists that keep us informed on the news channel. Like someone said, the deep south may not be equipped for this type of threat. I'm curious if the sirens went off and if they did, if most people took precautions like the should have. I'm curious if the Birmingham news channel had the weather man informing the people kinda like how Gary England does on where the tornado will most likely strike, its path, etc.......Ultimately, I'm wondering if many people thought nothing of it and went about their business assuming it was no big deal because they're not used to dealing with tornadoes like Okies.........I hate saying it, but this is a very large number of deaths. Either this is the reason, they lack the warning systems and experience that Oklahoma has, or many people may be unfamiliar on how to take shelter/safety precautions.

[Mississippi Sooner]

Its just crazy how many deaths happened due to this tornado. We did not have near that many deaths on May 3rd.....Of course, Oklahoma is home to the tornado and we have awesome meteorologists that keep us informed on the news channel. Like someone said, the deep south may not be equipped for this type of threat. I'm curious if the sirens went off and if they did, if most people took precautions like the should have. I'm curious if the Birmingham news channel had the weather man informing the people kinda like how Gary England does on where the tornado will most likely strike, its path, etc.......Ultimately, I'm wondering if many people thought nothing of it and went about their business assuming it was no big deal because they're not used to dealing with tornadoes like Okies.........I hate saying it, but this is a very large number of deaths. Either this is the reason, they lack the warning systems and experience that Oklahoma has, or many people may be unfamiliar on how to take shelter/safety precautions.

The biggest difference down here, and it's something I noticed immediately when I moved down 15 years ago, is the lack of storm shelters. Cellars are just part of the landscape in Oklahoma, but you rarely see one down here. At best, you'll occasionally see these little dugout things in the sides of hills or roadbanks. They're usually referred to as "sto' pits." Also, I think the high water table in most areas would keep cellars flooded most of the time.

The other thing, of course, is the general lack of knowledge of what to do during a tornado. I've gone on that rant many times before, but when a tornado warning is issued, announcing that school has been canceled and putting a lot of traffic on the road is a bad idea. Maybe they are starting to figure that out.

[jk the sooner fan]

I was living in Charleston then. I lost a pickup truck and the corner of my house to flying Loblolly Pine trees. The eye of the storm went over our neighborhood and people came out to survey the damage, not realizing that when the eye-wall returns it doesn't start slowly, it is an instant wall of 200mph wind.

Hugo was more powerful than Andrew and much more powerful than Katrina, but the SF Earthquake happened shortly after Charleston was hit and the country's focus turned away.

The Red Cross and Navy Relief did a tremendous job of helping out. We had two girls in diapers and no power, so the Navy put my family in base housing and fed them at the mess hall for two weeks until power was restored in my civilian neighborhood. I was always grateful for this, as I had to to go to sea for 3 months, 4 days after the hurricane hit.


the terminal at the air force base was destroyed and they got us on our flight thru the use of a replacement tent - the flight into the city was quite the sight with all the pine trees all over the place

[okie52]

The biggest difference down here, and it's something I noticed immediately when I moved down 15 years ago, is the lack of storm shelters. Cellars are just part of the landscape in Oklahoma, but you rarely see one down here. At best, you'll occasionally see these little dugout things in the sides of hills or roadbanks. They're usually referred to as "sto' pits." Also, I think the high water table in most areas would keep cellars flooded most of the time.

The other thing, of course, is the general lack of knowledge of what to do during a tornado. I've gone on that rant many times before, but when a tornado warning is issued, announcing that school has been canceled and putting a lot of traffic on the road is a bad idea. Maybe they are starting to figure that out.

It's not like the deep south doesn't get tornadoes. Historically not as often as OK but enough where you would think they would be better prepared and educated.

[Mississippi Sooner]

It's not like the deep south doesn't get tornadoes. Historically not as often as OK but enough where you would think they would be better prepared and educated.

I hear ya. I don't get it either.

[Frozen Sooner]

Any talk of ending the school year now? I should think getting the student population out of town would help lighten the load in providing essential and emergency services and getting things put back together.

FWIW, that happened with all three colleges in Charleston shortly after I graduated from the "SC School for Wayward Boys" in the wake of Hurricane Hugo.

No idea. The law school has postponed finals for today and tomorrow, but the server has since crashed and no updates are coming out of the school. Power won't be restored likely for several days. I don't see how they can even think about having finals at this point: just give everyone a P and let it go.

[Lott's Bandana]

It's not like the deep south doesn't get tornadoes. Historically not as often as OK but enough where you would think they would be better prepared and educated.


One issue was, and will always be in that part of the country, is that these big tornadoes occurred very late in the afternoon and into the night, people were on the roads, at home and widely dispersed. Tornadoes + nighttime = dead people.

Some small towns took direct hits, and historically, they don't get the attention, and therefore warning, of the media like the larger towns do in the South. This is basically because they don't do this as often as Oklahoma, which is very good at warning the "Bingers" of the world.

Last night, on The Weather Channel, some toupee'd mouthbreather kept going on and on and on about "what about Atlanta???", while several small towns were swallowed by the mile-wide wedge tornado. These storms were 3 hours away from Atlanta, which just so happens to be where the studio is this moran was standing in. He could give a flip that people were dying.

I was nauseated.

[The]

Yep. I'm good. Power is out at my place.

Here's a video shot from the parking lot of the law school by the guys who run the Bryant-Denny video board.

http://vimeo.com/22970879


Holy crap, that was awesome.

[Okla-homey]

No idea. The law school has postponed finals for today and tomorrow, but the server has since crashed and no updates are coming out of the school. Power won't be restored likely for several days. I don't see how they can even think about having finals at this point: just give everyone a P and let it go.

Server crash? The horror. They make these things called "Blue Books" on which you can write a final, with this thing called a "pen." Just saying. ;)

Srsly, glad you're okay. And that it doesn't appear the campus got jacked-up. I talked to my friend who lives in Tuscaloosa this morning. When it hit, she and her husband were over in Arab visiting her 85 y/o dad, and they haven't yet been able to return to the site of their home near campus because of the damage in trhe immediate vicinity. She doesn't know if her house made it yet.

[Mjcpr]

Please, no rush to donate cash.

They really have this disaster response piece gripped-up along, with an infrastructure to match their geographic reality. The urban SAR teams they sent to Bugtussle last month set a real benchmark. They'll have the place back up and running before you can say "git 'r done!".

And for the record, the Southerners will get it done most riki-tik because, unlike the losers in NOLA, they know WTF they're doing, are a self-disciplined population and will not sit in a pile of their own defecation bemoaning their fate and begging for help.

[Aldebaran]

Always good to see the obligatory pile on to Katrina victims after a major natural disaster. It's like clockwork. And that's just how bigtime our humanity is in America, baybe.

[jk the sooner fan]

Always good to see the obligatory pile on to Katrina victims after a major natural disaster. It's like clockwork. And that's just how bigtime our humanity is in America, baybe.

i think he was poking fun at Homey's post about the Japanese

[Aldebaran]

Yes... Thank you. It flew right over my head.

[SoCaliSooner]

Always good to see the obligatory pile on to Katrina victims after a major natural disaster. It's like clockwork. And that's just how bigtime our humanity is in America, baybe.

Oh, I don't know. Having been dispatched to 3rd world countries and to disasters across the country, I'd have to say that being shot at, threatened, stolen from and called all types of bad things by people we were saving in NOLA was something I never experienced before or since. The worse off Haitians looked like welcoming smiling Mormons compared to my fellow countrymen in NOLA.

[Mjcpr]

They'll be fine and I'm sure will require no assitance from the public or the government in their cleanup and rebuilding efforts like their neighbors in NOLA did.

[Aldebaran]

I wasn't around it, and have no doubt that it was challenging, and that there were challenging people to deal with, but it's beyond passe for some natural disaster to befall a place and immediately call out katrina victims about it. What does that accomplish beyond reenforced animosity?

[okie52]

One issue was, and will always be in that part of the country, is that these big tornadoes occurred very late in the afternoon and into the night, people were on the roads, at home and widely dispersed. Tornadoes + nighttime = dead people.

Some small towns took direct hits, and historically, they don't get the attention, and therefore warning, of the media like the larger towns do in the South. This is basically because they don't do this as often as Oklahoma, which is very good at warning the "Bingers" of the world.

Last night, on The Weather Channel, some toupee'd mouthbreather kept going on and on and on about "what about Atlanta???", while several small towns were swallowed by the mile-wide wedge tornado. These storms were 3 hours away from Atlanta, which just so happens to be where the studio is this moran was standing in. He could give a flip that people were dying.

I was nauseated.

Okies have lived with Tornadoes for a long time and the May 3rd tornado would have probably killed thousands had it hit in some other states that didn't have such a weather wise public.

But the south the last few years has been having an unusual amount (for them) of tornadoes and it seems like they would have become more weather aware. My son lived in Huntsville a few years ago and they would let out schools and jobs based on a tornado watch...yet most wouldn't know where to go or what to do if a tornado were actually approaching them.

Just seems strange but then, again, it may be somewhat new to the general public in the south.

[SoCaliSooner]

What does that accomplish beyond reenforced animosity?

It reinforces my animosity like a day at the spa.

[MsProudSooner2]

Okies have lived with Tornadoes for a long time and the May 3rd tornado would have probably killed thousands had it hit in some other states that didn't have such a weather wise public.

But the south the last few years has been having an unusual amount (for them) of tornadoes and it seems like they would have become more weather aware. My son lived in Huntsville a few years ago and they would let out schools and jobs based on a tornado watch...yet most wouldn't know where to go or what to do if a tornado were actually approaching them.

Just seems strange but then, again, it may be somewhat new to the general public in the south.

I read some statements from survivors and they didn't seem to be aware of any danger until the sirens sounded.

I know I had become rather nonchalant about tornado warnings prior to May 3, 1999. I've paid much more attention to the weather forcasts and warnings since then. We complain about constant weather coverage on TV, but it really does save lives.

[swardboy]

Server crash? The horror. They make these things called "Blue Books" on which you can write a final, with this thing called a "pen." Just saying. ;)

Srsly, glad you're okay. And that it doesn't appear the campus got jacked-up. I talked to my friend who lives in Tuscaloosa this morning. When it hit, she and her husband were over in Arab visiting her 85 y/o dad, and they haven't yet been able to return to the site of their home near campus because of the damage in trhe immediate vicinity. She doesn't know if her house made it yet.

I've grandchildren in the Arab area; waiting to hear from them...sounds like that area wasn't hit...thanks.

[jk the sooner fan]

i sorta think the continued references to Katrina victims are really more of an indictment against the sense of entitlement and expectations of government by "people" - more so than it is against the actual people themselves

[Frozen Sooner]

Server crash? The horror. They make these things called "Blue Books" on which you can write a final, with this thing called a "pen." Just saying. ;)


Er, yeah, what I was talking about was that they couldn't get e-mails out to the students to let them know WTF was going on. Remember, I got my BA in '96. I'm plenty familiar with bluebooks. Fortunately, ExamSoft doesn't need internet anyhow.


Srsly, glad you're okay. And that it doesn't appear the campus got jacked-up. I talked to my friend who lives in Tuscaloosa this morning. When it hit, she and her husband were over in Arab visiting her 85 y/o dad, and they haven't yet been able to return to the site of their home near campus because of the damage in trhe immediate vicinity. She doesn't know if her house made it yet.

Yep. Campus is just fine. Everything south of campus for about a half mile is gone.

[Lott's Bandana]

Okies have lived with Tornadoes for a long time and the May 3rd tornado would have probably killed thousands had it hit in some other states that didn't have such a weather wise public.

But the south the last few years has been having an unusual amount (for them) of tornadoes and it seems like they would have become more weather aware. My son lived in Huntsville a few years ago and they would let out schools and jobs based on a tornado watch...yet most wouldn't know where to go or what to do if a tornado were actually approaching them.

Just seems strange but then, again, it may be somewhat new to the general public in the south.


All true.

Actually, according to the mayor of Tuscaloosa in an interview last night, they canceled school yesterday in anticipation of the storms. That was actually pretty dayum good foresight.

[Mississippi Sooner]

All true.

Actually, according to the mayor of Tuscaloosa in an interview last night, they canceled school yesterday in anticipation of the storms. That was actually pretty dayum good foresight.

They did the same thing here. And I have no problem with it when they do it beforehand. It's when they announce a tornado warning in the middle of the day, and then they cancel school and put kids on buses and make parents get out on the road, that I want to slap the administrators upside the head.

[Frozen Sooner]

We had good warning. They were telling us a bad storm (at least) was coming for a couple of days.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Froze, glad you are OK..I was about to hit you up on FB but saw your posts and figured you must be fine...

Trying to figure out a way to get donations there of some water and clothing.

[Frozen Sooner]

Donate to the Red Cross. They're out here helping.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

OK..I've got some clothing donations left over from the tornado that happened south of here a few weeks ago and quite a bit of water..

[soonercruiser]

Sad!
Fatalities 249, and climbing...
:(

[Half a Hundred]

Two reasons for high fatalities:

1. Lots of trees. Even the most tornado-prepared Okie isn't going into the hidey hole until he sees that sucker on the horizon. In most of Alabama, there's no horizon to see. Thing could be on top of you with little warning.

2. Oklahoma's set up to deal with it better. Alabama's about 75% more densely populated. Oklahoma also has a regularized grid patter of roads at section lines. So tornadoes, especially long-track, are going to hit more open space, and people will have better opportunities to get out of the way.

There's also the sad truth - EF-4 and EF-5s are going to kill people, no matter how you prepare. This time, we had one hit two cities, one the size of OKC, and the other the size of Amarillo. That's going to result in extreme loss of life, no matter your preparation and coverage.

[C&CDean]

Donate to the Red Cross. They're out here helping.

Uh, hello. The Salvation Army does more in one hour than the RC does in a week. Seriously.

[ouwasp]

I saw a clip from a CBS station in Tuscaloosa. The weatherman was understandably shocked by what he was seeing, at one time saying "this is the kind of storm usually seen in the central plains!".... he was also playing a "cheerleader" type role, repeating "Stick with us, we're gonna get through this" several times.

I never heard him tell folks to get below ground, like Gary would. Like other have points out, maybe that just wasn't an option...

[prrriiide]

Its just crazy how many deaths happened due to this tornado. We did not have near that many deaths on May 3rd.....Of course, Oklahoma is home to the tornado and we have awesome meteorologists that keep us informed on the news channel. Like someone said, the deep south may not be equipped for this type of threat. I'm curious if the sirens went off and if they did, if most people took precautions like the should have. I'm curious if the Birmingham news channel had the weather man informing the people kinda like how Gary England does on where the tornado will most likely strike, its path, etc.......Ultimately, I'm wondering if many people thought nothing of it and went about their business assuming it was no big deal because they're not used to dealing with tornadoes like Okies.........I hate saying it, but this is a very large number of deaths. Either this is the reason, they lack the warning systems and experience that Oklahoma has, or many people may be unfamiliar on how to take shelter/safety precautions.

A big problem was that there was a lot of severe storms earlier in the day that knocked out power to big sections of the south. A lot of people that died didn't have any warning until the sirens went off, if they went off.

Here in Knoxville, we had our first tornado warning as I got home from work at 10 a.m. We got another around 2:30, and were under a tornado warning from then until after midnight. We were fortunate, just hail and wind damage. Didn't lose power until 8 p.m. or so. Warnings weren't an issue with us. But in areas that lost power early, there just weren't ways to receive the warnings that were going out.

Also...this was a one-in-a-million storm. The comparisons to 5/3/99 are spot-on: you needed to be underground to ride that bad boy out. While they don't get as many tornadoes in the south as we get on the plains, the ones they get are more likely to be longer-tracked than the ones on the plains. Most of the people that died probably did what they've been taught all their lives: get in the basement or the bathroom or a closet and get under something or get in the tub. That works great for an EF3. But in an EF5 monster like that one? No dice.

If that storm would have hit in even as late as the late 70's, the death toll would have been in the thousands.

[Okla-homey]

Uh, hello. The Salvation Army does more in one hour than the RC does in a week. Seriously.

I agree. I've seen both in action, both here in the US and abroad. Not even close.

[Frozen Sooner]

Uh, hello. The Salvation Army does more in one hour than the RC does in a week. Seriously.


I agree. I've seen both in action, both here in the US and abroad. Not even close.

People are more than welcome to donate to either. I've seen a bunch of Red Cross people running around already--as early as yesterday 7am. I'm sure the Salvation Army people could use money/clothes/whatever as well.

[okie52]

Two reasons for high fatalities:

1. Lots of trees. Even the most tornado-prepared Okie isn't going into the hidey hole until he sees that sucker on the horizon. In most of Alabama, there's no horizon to see. Thing could be on top of you with little warning.

2. Oklahoma's set up to deal with it better. Alabama's about 75% more densely populated. Oklahoma also has a regularized grid patter of roads at section lines. So tornadoes, especially long-track, are going to hit more open space, and people will have better opportunities to get out of the way.

There's also the sad truth - EF-4 and EF-5s are going to kill people, no matter how you prepare. This time, we had one hit two cities, one the size of OKC, and the other the size of Amarillo. That's going to result in extreme loss of life, no matter your preparation and coverage.

Yep, Bama has 1,000,000 more people packed into an area that is about 75% the size of OK.

Don't know about the tree factor, though. Maybe hills could do that. That Tuscaloosa tornado was pretty dam visible and broadcast on TV for quite a while before its arrival.

And, as some other posters have stated, there may not have been that many shelters for people to have sought protection even with advanced warning.

But there is no question that Okies are just more used to this and are better prepared for such an event.


Thirty-six people died in this tornado.[2] Over 8,000 homes were badly damaged or destroyed and the tornado caused $1.1 billion in damage, making it the single most costly tornado in U.S. history[citation needed], adjusted for inflation.[3] This was also the deadliest tornado since the April 10, 1979 Wichita Falls, Texas Tornado which killed forty- two.[4] However, early warning saved many lives.

Now 8,000 homes being severely damaged or destroyed and only having 36 people die is a really low number, proportionately speaking.

[Lott's Bandana]

Uh, hello. The Salvation Army does more in one hour than the RC does in a week. Seriously.


Not my experience, bro. The Red Cross was allsome after Hurricane Hugo.

[Mississippi Sooner]

They're calling folks from Walmart and Lowe's over here to go help out at the stores in Tuscaloosa. The building supply stores are gonna be making a killing off of this.

[Spray]

Uh, hello. The Salvation Army does more in one hour than the RC does in a week. Seriously.


Side note: The Salavation Army headquarters in Tuscaloosa was destroyed.

[Okla-homey]

Update from my fried in Tuscaloosey. Apparently, most of the damage is confined to ratty post-WWII construction south of the UA campus. Now, UA is landlocked and wants to expand just like Booger Pickens State did. My friend hopes UA and the city can use this disaster as an opportunity to expand UA into the destruction zone, thereby avoiding condemning property of people who didn't want to move.

Sort of an "urban renewal by F5."

[StoopTroup]

We still are trying to find our friends down there. All we have is a Postal Address from Christmas as he got a new job and the old email doesn't work.

I pray Mom and Dad and the kids are OK.

[delhalew]

I'll admit to having done some amateur chasing, but these guys have **** for brains. They got a decent video though.
http://youtu.be/5ohIVzIZLuQ

[SouthCarolinaSooner]

Its sad that Osama's killing has provoked a greater reaction than the death of 300 people in the south. Lets put some of our enthusiasm and joy into rebuilding down there instead of going bat**** about Osama's death.

[Curly Bill]

Its sad that Osama's killing has provoked a greater reaction than the death of 300 people in the south. Lets put some of our enthusiasm and joy into rebuilding down there instead of going bat**** about Osama's death.

How about you do whatever the hell you want to do, and leave others to do the same! ;)

[SouthCarolinaSooner]

How about you do whatever the hell you want to do, and leave others to do the same! ;)
Yo dawg, this is a message board. I ain't forcing you to do anything.

[Curly Bill]

Yo dawg, this is a message board. I ain't forcing you to do anything.

Yeah I know cause I'd twist your Stuart Smalley sweater around your little neck.

[SouthCarolinaSooner]

Yeah I know cause I'd twist your Stuart Smalley sweater around your little neck.
Internet tough guy

[Blue]

Update from my fried in Tuscaloosey. Apparently, most of the damage is confined to ratty post-WWII construction south of the UA campus. Now, UA is landlocked and wants to expand just like Booger Pickens State did. My friend hopes UA and the city can use this disaster as an opportunity to expand UA into the destruction zone, thereby avoiding condemning property of people who didn't want to move.

Sort of an "urban renewal by F5."

Many towns were destroyed by this tornado and others. The T-town tornado was apparently on the ground for 300 miles.

We had one hit down the hill from my house. Probably an F-1 or 2. Cahaba Heights is a mess.

This is a statewide event. Jus sayin.

[Curly Bill]

Internet tough guy

Wow, that's original. Did you think of that all by yourself? :rolleyes:

[Blue]

Sort of an "urban renewal by F5."

And Fyi, this comment comes off as really harsh. You might not have meant it that way. Jus sayin.

[SouthCarolinaSooner]

And Fyi, this comment comes off as really prickish. You might not have meant it that way. Jus sayin.
.

[Okla-homey]

And Fyi, this comment comes off as really harsh. You might not have meant it that way. Jus sayin.

Whatever. That "urban renewal by F5" quip was my friend in Tuscaloosa's words, a person who has lived there thirty years. The point is, at least the tornado mostly only tore up the crappy part of town.

[okie52]

Its okay. Osama is dead.

Did you send his family a sympathy card yet?

[Half a Hundred]

Whatever. That "urban renewal by F5" quip was my friend in Tuscaloosa's words, a person who has lived there thirty years. The point is, at least the tornado mostly only tore up the crappy part of town.

Po' folks still is folks.

[Frozen Sooner]

Whatever. That "urban renewal by F5" quip was my friend in Tuscaloosa's words, a person who has lived there thirty years. The point is, at least the tornado mostly only tore up the crappy part of town.

Yeah, good thing those people didn't have much to begin with. Much better that they take the hit rather than people who can afford to rebuild.

That "crappy part of town" housed several of my friends who are now homeless.

Obviously you're not a guy who actually thinks it's cool that people lost their home. The statement was in fairly poor taste, but I know you better than to think it's how you actually feel.

And SCS, we're pretty much OK with people being happy about OBL being dead down here. At least something good came out of this week. Since the President apparently gave the order while he was here, we're claiming another national championship.

[Spray]

Whatever. That "urban renewal by F5" quip was my friend in Tuscaloosa's words, a person who has lived there thirty years. The point is, at least the tornado mostly only tore up the crappy part of town.

Homey- your friend is a little off in his assessment. Yes, there were some run down areas of town affected, but a lot of the damage being seen is in an area highly populated by students. In fact, the apartments I lived in while in school there are across the street from a small middle class neighborhood that was flattened.

[SouthCarolinaSooner]

And SCS, we're pretty much OK with people being happy about OBL being dead down here. At least something good came out of this week. Since the President apparently gave the order while he was here, we're claiming another national championship.
That wasn't what I was meaning to say at all, I was just comparing the passion in the reaction to each event.

[Okla-homey]

Yeah, good thing those people didn't have much to begin with. Much better that they take the hit rather than people who can afford to rebuild.

That "crappy part of town" housed several of my friends who are now homeless.

Obviously you're not a guy who actually thinks it's cool that people lost their home. The statement was in fairly poor taste, but I know you better than to think it's how you actually feel.

And SCS, we're pretty much OK with people being happy about OBL being dead down here. At least something good came out of this week. Since the President apparently gave the order while he was here, we're claiming another national championship.

I'm just repeating what my friend told me. And can anyone honestly say it would have been better if the rundown part of town were spared and the campus had been flattened? Including Bryant-Denny Stadium and the new Nick Saban statue? Give me a flippin' break. You people crack me up.

[delhalew]

That wasn't what I was meaning to say at all, I was just comparing the passion in the reaction to each event.

How many people need to tell you that you're being an a-hole for you to stop trolling?

[White House Boy]

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110430/NEWS/110439994/?tc=obinsite

570 missing from Tuscaloosa area, alone, as of Saturday. I'd be surpsied if official death toll doesn't eventually top 1000.

[Blue]

I'm just repeating what my friend told me. And can anyone honestly say it would have been better if the rundown part of town were spared and the campus had been flattened? Including Bryant-Denny Stadium and the new Nick Saban statue? Give me a flippin' break. You people crack me up.

Thats like saying The OKC Bombing was a "Human Resource Turnover by way of TNT."

I'm not really personally offended, but you might want to keep those comments between friends.

I just found out 5 people died about 200 yards from my house. Looks like that F-2 just missed my place.

[Half a Hundred]

I'm just repeating what my friend told me. And can anyone honestly say it would have been better if the rundown part of town were spared and the campus had been flattened? Including Bryant-Denny Stadium and the new Nick Saban statue? Give me a flippin' break. You people crack me up.

Yeah, I'll say it. It would have been much better for the tornado to hit the campus and stadium instead of the run-down parts of town. There, you've got well-constructed, insured buildings. I'd have much rather it hit the stadium instead of the Rosedale Court projects, and have some of the infants and toddlers spared.

If people are living in the rundown part of town, they've got enough problems as it is. A monster tornado on top of it is just cruel. Classes at UA were canceled, so it wasn't as if people were clustered in one area.