Parts of Alabama were rocked late Wednesday with severe rain, thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Information is still coming in, but it appears that several areas in Chilton, Marion, and Etowah counties were affected by tornadoes late Wednesday evening.
It is still too early to determine the tornadoes' size, length, coverage, and severity, but the damage left behind tells a story all its own.
The community most severely affected by tornadoes is the city of Winfield in Marion County. The downtown area of Winfield looks almost unrecognizable.
According to Eric Terrell, the director of the Marion County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), they are still engaging in damage assessment, but the tornado does not seem to have caused any injuries.
"So far, we have zero injuries reported, not even a scratch; that’s phenomenal,” Terrell said. “We’ve been blessed to have all this damage with no injuries.”
Information is still coming in about the extent of the damage and what has been affected, so the long-term effects of the tornado and storms are unknown. According to Terrell, the downtown area of Winfield received “extreme structural damage."
“We are still doing our assessment, but it looks like there are about 15-20 local businesses affected,” Terrell said. “Powerline, internet, and other stuff like that might be affected outside of the downtown area, but mostly the damage is [limited] to downtown.”
Some residual damage will take longer to fix, but the EMA is assuring people that most of the damage has been dealt with.
“We have some traffic light issues that may take longer to fix,” Terrell said. “They probably won’t get it figured out until Tuesday, but other than that, the cleanup effort has gone really well. We’ve been blessed. We’ve been lucky.”
The cleanup has been a combined effort between local first responders and state workers to clear the debris and destroyed structures.
“It’s been great to see all the cleanup here,” Terrell said. “The first responders here, as well as the DOT, we even had some wildlife and conservation guys down here, they’ve all done an amazing job with the cleanup.”
The details are still unfolding regarding the level of damage in Winfield and surrounding areas. As of now, there have been no reported injuries from the tornado. Updates will continue to pour in as emergency personnel continue to assess the damage.
