By Ben Nunnally, Star Staff Writer, bnunnally@annistonstar.com Residents of the Thankful community west of Anniston have one more thing to be happy about: a new storm shelter on 14th Street at Thankful Community Park. The shelter — called a “community safe room” in FEMA’s codes — has room for about 96 occupants, according to Georgia-based manufacturer […]
Driving through our small town of Thomasville and seeing the destruction that Hurricane Michael caused, my heart is heavy. I think about Panama City, Tyndall Air Force Base, and what used to be Mexico Beach, and I wonder how so many displaced people are just supposed to pick back up and start all over. Where […]
So far, Mother Nature seems to be in stealth mode where tornadoes are concerned. Is she is just being lazy or is this the calm before the storm? Either way, the fact that not one tornado has been recorded in the state of Oklahoma since October 21, 2017 leaves many residents thankful for the quiet. Rick […]
One year ago, this month, Southwest Georgia area was caught off-guard by one of the sneakiest and most unexpected EF3 tornadoes. Of course, there were a total of eight southern states that were affected by the swarm of tornadoes.For our Survive-a-Storm team members, however, the tornado that struck Albany was a grim reminder that what […]
Be prepared, lest we forget. Just ask the folks who live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.Oftentimes after a tragedy occurs, we spend the next few years honoring those who may have fallen, or who may have been affected by said tragedy. As life goes on and we begin to heal, we move further away from the event […]
Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama typically outrank other states for the most tornadoes each year. However, all three states have been bumped down while Georgia has claimed the number one spot in the nation when this was written in 2017. January 21-22 staged a two-day outbreak which broke state records and rocked the Southwestern area of […]
Tornadoes have been a weather phenomenon for centuries. And with that, come many tornado myths. From the first published photographs of tornadoes, people were both in awe and afraid of them. The chaotic whirlwinds can blow through a town and destroy one side of the street, one home on a street, or demolish the entire […]
A message from Cynthia:My cell phone rang at the most inopportune time. My hands were full. I was busy carrying in groceries and dealing the children. The dog was barking and a storm was headed our way. I ignored the call, think one more thing was just too much. My husband is a truck driver who […]
When it comes to hurricanes, meteorologists can generally give impact areas a few days notice of when and where it might hit. I can remember my father preparing our home for Hurricane Allen when we lived in Corpus Christi, Texas. He boarded up the windows and tied down anything we had outside that couldn’t fit […]
Summer of 2016 is drawing to a close. Schools have started back all across the nation. Now is the time we begin to refocus our efforts on the best way to protect our most important asset as a nation: Our children. They are our future, and we are their heritage. What have we left them? […]