LIVINGSTON — April 27, 2011, is a day that is etched in the minds of Alabamians. It was the day 252 people were killed in a massive tornado outbreak. Many lives were lost in West Alabama.
The outbreak spurred stories of loss, devastation and hope. Tina Naremore Jones shared a story of community. During that time, Jones was the dean of Educational Outreach at the University of West Alabama (UWA).
“It’s actually really vivid in my memory,” Jones told 1819 News.
Jones was in her office at Land Hall when classes were canceled. Among her staff in the office that day was Monica Newman Moore, the secretary. The staff was safe, huddled in a back room built into a hillside. Moore, who lives in Tuscaloosa, was asked to stay on campus while her husband was at home.
“We said, ‘You have to stay here. You can't go home,” Jones said. “She was on the phone with her husband. They actually live in Alberta City, and he was at their home. He sent a video from his phone of the tornado going over their house.”
The Alberta City home was damaged, and many homes in the area were destroyed. Moore stayed with the Jones family that evening until they could leave the next day. Moore wanted to get home, so the Jones family began collecting generators and chainsaws and headed to the devastation.
“We were allowed to go in,” Jones said. “We cut our way into her neighborhood, and we, literally with chainsaws, made our way through trees that were down in her neighborhood.”
Moore finally reached her husband, who was safe. The group spent the day passing out water, cutting down trees and clearing debris. Jones said the effort was all about assessing the damage and helping those who were facing the unthinkable.
Among those killed in the outbreak was an online student at UWA, who was living in Tuscaloosa.
“I can very vividly remember that commencement because her husband came and accepted her degree posthumously on her behalf,” Jones recalled. “And I think there's probably a lot of those stories, you know, because that's part of a family closure and also celebrating that life. That is a moment in time that most people will never forget.”
Back in Sumter County, tornadoes changed the landscape. Through it all, Jones said it was all about neighbors helping neighbors.
“Neighbors were making sure that people had what they needed to keep going, and so, I've always found that when you live in a small town, it's not faceless,” she said. You know that person. You see them in the you know post office.”
UWA used the First Alert system to notify students and share information.
Jones went on to become Provost of UWA. She has since retired, but her memories of April 27, 2011, remain.
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