Americus, hospital plan to rebuild from the ruins

Sumter Regional Hospital, Americus, Ga., Feb. 4, 2008. (Dave Bender)

On March first of last year, a tornado ripped through Americus, killing two and devastating the community. What did the city learn and what are their plans if such a disaster strikes again?

The force-3 twister ripped apart lives, homes, businesses and vehicles in a two-mile wide-swath of destruction. Although much of the external damage has been fixed, city and county officials are still dealing with deeper issues of planning and preparation.

Mary Ann Crowley directs the Americus chapter of Habitat for Humanity:

“These kinds of events and catastrophes in the lives of communities are not 30-minute sitcoms. They don't start and end when you want them to. You can't do the instant replay and skip the parts that you don't like.”

Crowley says that long time residents of Habitat homes damaged in the tornado faced a welter of legal and insurance issues over ownership, that only a year later have been cleared up.

Little of the physical damage is left, according to Americus Mayor Barry Blount:

"Within 69 days the community was, essentially, cleaned up. The rebuilding, reconstruction has gone on - if you ride through town, you can see new buildings have been put up in place of the buildings that have been destroyed. We do still have some structures that are still, haven't been rebuilt; there are still some issues with insurance companies...”

But the biggest issue in town is the local hospital. Sumter County Regional was destroyed by the tornado.

A new interim facility will open in March, exactly one year after the disaster. A completely new hospital is planned to open by 2010.

The hospital is holding a fundraiser – one of several. They're selling off the bricks of the original 1953 structure, after the bulldozers bring them down.

But other shocks to Sumter County's system are still not resolved.

Blount says there's still no county-wide emergency warning system. The city has turned to the Federal and Georgia Emergency Management Authorities for help:

“We've applied for some grants from FEMA and GEMA; thus far, we have not received any for an emergency warning system.”

Blount is hopeful he'll get such a system in the coming year. But one thing has changed for the better since the tornado - communication between the Police, Sheriffs Department, city and county rescue services:

“We have rectified that, so that now all the different emergency personnel can communicate with one another.”

Turning to the home front, Blount says he's told residents that first and foremost they have to get their own houses in order. That means a supply of non-perishable food, water, an evacuation plan and an emergency radio with fresh batteries.

Blount's comments echo the “YOYO-72” idea, stressing individual preparation: You're On You're On for the first 72-hours.

On February 29th, Americus is planning a commemoration of that tornado-stricken night.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado, and efforts to rebuild Americus and lives affected by the storms.

Body Found in Atlanta Tornado Rubble

Georgia counties affected by the March 14-16th storms. (Courtesy GEMA)

Workers found a body on Saturday while clearing rubble from a building damaged over a week ago when a tornado slammed into downtown Atlanta, police said.

"We may have the first tornado victim in the city of Atlanta, but we won't know for sure until the medical examiner"returns with results, Officer James Polite said.

The man had no identification, but he was wearing a wedding band, Polite said.

The front of the damaged building had been a store and the rear had been rented out to a local church. Workers using a Bobcat to scoop up bricks and debris saw a hand sticking out of the rubble and called police, Polite said.

"We believe the man was seeking shelter from the storm and did not make it into the building," Polite said. "He was facing the wall when we found him."

Investigators brought in two cadaver dogs to search the rubble, which was east of downtown, but no other bodies were found.

The twister struck the city with little warning March 14, cutting a 6-mile path of destruction through the city with winds gusting up to 130 miles per hour. At least 27 people were injured.

Another tornado that hit northwest Georgia on March 15 killed two Polk County residents.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado.

Oxendine: Over $150 million in Atlanta storm damage

Click here for the latest National Weather Service update.

People get out and survey the damage in Atlanta's Cabbage Town neighborhood. At least 27 people were hurt Friday night, though no injuries were believed to be life-threatening. (AP Photo/John Amis)

State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine estimated damage from Friday night's storm at $150 million to $200 million.

Tens of thousands of basketball fans at two Atlanta arenas were perfectly safe, officials insisted Saturday, even though the crowds apparently weren't warned about an approaching tornado — one that would ravage skyscrapers and injure dozens.

About 18,000 people were watching the Southeastern Conference men's tournament Friday night at the Georgia Dome when its fabric roof began rippling, the catwalks above the court started swaying and chunks of insulation rained onto the players.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning about eight minutes before the twister hit, but it wasn't clear when or if that alert was passed on to fans, said Katy Pando, a dome spokeswoman. Fans claimed they never heard or saw one.

Another 16,000 fans watching an NBA game at Philips Arena, in the same complex as the dome, weren't told of the weather, either. The arena apparently sustained little damage, Atlanta Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said.

Governor Sonny Perdue and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin declared a state of emergency in several areas in Atlanta.

A sign rests atop four cars in a downtown Atlanta parking lot after a tornado touched down Friday evening, pictured Saturday March 15, 2008. (AP / Ron Williams)

The tornado, with wind up to 130 mph, cut a 6-mile path through downtown Atlanta, smashing hundreds of windows in and around the CNN Center, blowing furniture and luggage out of hotel rooms and crumbling part of an apartment building.

A cab sits in the debris in front of CNN Center in downtown Atlanta Friday, March 14, 2008.
(AP Photo/Dave Martin)

At least two people died in Polk and Floyd counties from the storms. A third is reported in critical condition.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the storm damage in downtown Atlanta Friday evening.

Click here for tornado and severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service for the Atlanta area and statewide.

(The Associated Press)

Atlanta: The clean-up and the accounting

Two cars are partially buried under the rubble of a twister-hit building. Centennial Olympic Park area, March 16, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Georgia officials say cleaning up the debris from the streets of downtown Atlanta won't take as long as repairing the financial damage caused by the tornado that ripped through the city's core.
Scrap metal dealer Jessie Callaway cautiously picks his way through the rubble of a brick building ripped apart by the tornado, March 16, 2008. Centennial Park area. (Dave Bender)

Scrap metal dealer, Jessie Callaway was born and grew up in the neighborhood. He's rummaging through a pile of metal shards in an old building. The twister ripped off two of the corner building's brick walls:

“Yeah, I clean up more ways than one. I'm fixin' to clean that up right now (laughs). It was devastating out here -- I just couldn't believe it -- I ain't never seen nothin' like this before in the state of Georgia.”

Several landmarks, including the Georgia World Congress Center, were in the path of the storm, which danced along the Atlanta skyline for about 20 minutes on Friday night. The city's main convention center and two major hotels find themselves hobbled as the convention season begins.

CNN Center and the Omni Hotel. TV trucks and cranes were a common sight in downtown Atlanta on Sunday morning. Centennial Olympic Park area, March 16, 2008. (Dave Bender).

With the closing this weekend of the complex which includes the huge convention center, the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, the facility lost the Atlanta Home Show, a dental convention and much of the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament.

Workmen at the Georgia World Congress Center sweep up shards of glass, as glazier crews behind them replace windows shattered in the storm. March 16, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Dan Graveline, executive director of the Georgia World Congress Center, said today on a walking tour with reporters and that it's still too early to add up the damage. Graveline says he hopes repairs will begin soon, starting with the areas that can be fixed most quickly. Graveline says the damage that can't be seen at a glance is also a concern.

Atlanta resident Terry Lewis, who came downtown to survey the mechanized clean-up wearing a hard-hat, compared it to the havoc in her East Atlanta Village neighborhood, where a number of families suffered significant damage to their homes and vehicles:

“This is stunning ... [but] it was actually kind of more heart-wrenching to see what was happening with my neighborhood and my neighbors; the amount of home damage and car damage... yeah – there's not a lot of people here, so you're not seeing the human toll you're seeing in the neighborhood.”

Governor Sonny Perdue, who also was at the news conference, expressed relief and gratitude for the minimal loss of life and quick response of emergency workers.


A sign company crew re-welds a fallen billboard behind a car, its roof collapsed from falling debris. Centennial Olympic Park area, March 16, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Hotel officials say they are most concerned about getting the Georgia World Congress Center back into shape as a conference venue. They say their own facilities had minor damage in comparison.


The Westin Hotel is framed by a sign company's stinger truck cranes. Many of the hotel's windows were blown out by the winds. Centennial Olympic Park area, March 16, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Daniel Shmittou, whose renovation firm was called in to save a tornado-damaged structure on Saturday, has one word for the results:

“Devastating. I've been here since '79, and I've never seen anything like it. It's truly a sad day.”

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who toured the area Saturday estimates the damages at upwards of 200 million dollars.

Click here for more GPB coverage of the storm and its aftermath.

(With The Associated Press)

Tornado cleanup causes massive Atlanta traffic problems

Commuters heading into Atlanta today are dealing with massive traffic backups as the city cleans-up from tornado damage over the weekend.

Traffic on at least two of the major interstates heading into downtown Atlanta was backing-up for several miles late this morning. Numerous street closures and dozens of traffic light outages across the city are causing drivers to look for alternate routes, or be stuck in long backups.

The city is in cleanup and repair mode following a destructive tornado that cut through Friday night. The twister was the first in recorded history to slice through Atlanta’s downtown. It struck a tourism district around the Centennial Olympic Park, and hit nearby neighborhoods in its 6-mile path.

Damage includes blown-out windows on high-rises, buildings with walls torn away, and a loft-residence complex with a completely collapsed roof. The city’s main convention center took significant damage.

Officials say early damage estimates in the city total at least 150-million dollars.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado and the aftermath.

Americus: One year since deadly twister

Wrecking crews demolish ruins of Sumter Regional Hospital, severely damaged by the storm, February, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Governor Sonny Perdue and state officials will attend memorial services in Americus today, commemorating the one-year anniversary of a tornado that devastated the town.

The F-3 twister took two lives, and left a two-mile swath of destruction through the town on the night of March first, 2007.

Then and now: Doctor's Pharmacy, Americus, in Feb., 2008, and on the morning after the storm, March 2, 2007. (Dave Bender)

Perdue will join local officials and residents in mourning their loss, but, looking to a brighter future:

An anonymous donor has given a $1 million dollar donation to reconstruction efforts at the town's Sumter Regional Hospital, destroyed by the storm.

The SRH Foundation has received close to $4 million dollars in donations and equipment, according to local reports.

COGIM units set up in the hospital's parking lot, will serve patients in the interim until a permanent facility is built. (February, 2008/Dave Bender)

A temporary, 76-bed acute-care center will serve the community until a permanent hospital is built. It is slated to open in 2010. More information is available on the Internet at http://www.sumterregional.org.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado and the reconstruction.

FEMA to cover most of Americus hospital rebuilding

Wrecking crews demolishing Sumter Regional Hospital earlier this year. The facility was severely damaged by a twister that tore through Americus on March 1, 2007. (Dave Bender/file photo)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)has approved 75 percent of a $7.4 million dollar bill for rebuilding Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, ravaged by a tornado in 2007.

The $5.5 million FEMA aid will help equip several departments, including operating rooms and cardiac care.

State and local funding is expected to cover the remainder of the cost, according to a statement from the Governor's Office.

The hospital served as the primary care facility for seven counties until it was destroyed when a twister that ripped through Americus on March first of last year.

Meanwhile, patients are using temporary facilities nearby, that opened on April 1.

Two of a series of COGIM units set up in the hospital's parking lot, which serve patients in the interim, until a permanent facility is built. (Dave Bender/file photo)

Hospital officials say they hope to break ground on a permanent structure in early 2009.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the twister's damage to SRH and Americus.

Americus, Albany hospitals to merge operations

Local residents examine overturned vehicle in SRH parking lot on March 2, 2007, the morning after the tornado struck. (file/Dave Bender)

Officials at Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus have decided to lease operations to Albany's Phoebe Putney Health System.

Sumter Regional was destroyed by a tornado on March 1, 2007.

Wrecking crews demolishing Sumter Regional Hospital earlier this year. The facility was severely damaged by a twister that tore through Americus on March 1, 2007. (file/Dave Bender)

Patients have been using temporary facilities nearby, and relying on other area hospitals for more comprehensive medical services since then.

Hospital officials say Phoebe Putney will add at least $25 million dollars to rebuild SRH, and will provide core primary and emergency services, according to a report in the Albany Herald newspaper.

Both hospitals are expected to finalize the agreement by the New Year.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado, and it's effect on SRH and Americus.

Scientists: City, Drought Fueled Atlanta's Freak Tornado

The freak tornado that damaged downtown Atlanta last year might have been caused in part by the city itself. New research funded by NASA shows that, while the twister was spawned by a larger weather system, it also might have been made stronger by a "heat island" that surrounds Atlanta.

University of Georgia geography professor Marshall Shepherd was part of the study and says, the research could help to improve weather forecasts. "Land cover and soil moisture affect weather processes and right now many of our weather forecasting models today don't represent urban landcover or soil moisture as well as they should," Dr. Shepherd says.

The study also says, Georgia's on-going drought could have been a factor by creating what amounted to a "sea breeze" between wet and dry areas. The downtown Atlanta tornado struck almost exactly a year ago today, causing only minor injuries, but millions of dollars damage.

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Tornado Confirmed For Damage In Cherokee County

The severe storms of Sunday night for parts of the state did result in at least one confirmed tornado. The National Weather Service says a twister did touch down for a few seconds in a Cherokee County neighborhood. That’s all it took for more than 100 homes to sustain some level of damage, and 12 to be completely destroyed. Officials say the tornado was a half-mile wide and left a destructive path over a mile long. Reported twisters in north Georgia’s Cobb County, and west Georgia’s Muscogee County have not been confirmed.

Nat'l Weather Svce seeks tornado evidence

Weather experts will look for evidence in a south Georgia town to determine if storm damage was caused by a tornado. A storm system Monday brought another round of severe weather to Fitzgerald where a possible twister damaged one building and toppled several irrigation systems east of the town. No injuries were reported. A storm survey will be conducted Tuesday in Ben Hill County byNational Weather Service meteorologists in Tallahassee, Fla.

(Associated Press)

Americus hospital rises from rubble

Construction workers at Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, ravaged by a twister on March 1st, have erected the first of a series of COGIM temporary facilities.

COGIM unit. (Photo courtesy of The Americus Times-Recorder)

The 70,000-sq. ft. facility will hold 76-beds, and be fully functional, hospital officials say.

Federal and state organizations, donors and local volunteer groups been active in caring for SRH patients in the interim, as the construction continues.

SRH the day after the tornado struck. (Dave Bender)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado and the aftermath.

Twister-hit hospital selling bricks for new building

Destroyed vehicle in SRH parking lot. Hospital is in the background, March 2, 2007. (Dave Bender)

The hospital destroyed in a tornado that ripped through Americus nearly a year ago is for sale - one brick at a time.

Sumter Regional Hospital is selling bricks from the building ripped apart by the March 1st, 2007, storm to help pay for a new hospital. For months, doctors treated more than 5,400 patients in eight counties in tents set up near the hospital.

Since then, the facility has operated in a temporary structure.

Basic medical triage services were held in several tents like these, set up in the hospital's parking lot. March 2, 2007. (Dave Bender)

The bricks go for $25, $50 and $100 each. For more information, contact the hospital's marketing department at (229) 928-4000.

(Dave Bender)
The tornadoes killed nine people in Sumter, Taylor and Baker counties, and caused more than 210 million dollars in damage, demolishing dozens of Georgia homes and businesses.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the twister and its aftermath.

(The Associated Press)

Sumter Hospital gets new facilities

Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, destroyed by a twister on March 1st is getting new temporary structures, until a new facility is built.

The federal and Georgia emergency management teams supplied the modular structures. They say the pre-fab rooms will allow the hospital to treat a fuller range of medical needs.

Federal, state and local officials unveiled the structures at a press conference Friday afternoon, held in the hospital's parking lot.

Sumter has been using mobile homes, trailers and hard-walled tents in the parking lot to treat patients since the tornado on March first. These facilities were limited, and most cases were transferred to other area hospitals.

Ambulance staffer fills out patient forms outside of
temporary facility. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Officials say this is the first time the rooms, made by an Italian company, are being used as a hospital facility in the United States.

Construction workers outside hospital building,
after twister. (Photo: Dave Bender)

More information on the hospital is here.

Confirmed Savannah tornado last week

Weather officials confirmed it was a tornado that slammed Savannah late last week. A National Weather Service forecaster says a twister cut a mile-long swath through Savannah's south side on Thursday afternoon, with winds up to 100 miles per hour. Snapped trees, downed power lines and a blown-off church steeple made up part of the damage. 31,000 homes and businesses were without power. Throughout the storm however, no injuries were reported.

Little Damage Reported from Cherokee County Twister

Several residents in Cherokee County were stuck inside their homes after a reported tornado touched down. The suspected twister is being blamed for damaging several homes and falling trees in the Canton neighborhood, about 30 miles north of Atlanta. A spokesman for the county issued a statement late last night saying there have been no injuries in the area. However, officials also warn many roadways are blocked due to fallen debris.

Americus: Sumter Hospital to get almost $10 M

Vehicle flipped over by tornado in Sumter Regional
Hospital's parking lot. (Photo: Dave Bender)

FEMA will provide Sumter Hospital in Americus over nine-million-dollars in funding for temporary facilities. Both the hospital and the town sustained severe damage from a lethal twister on March 1st.

The funds are part of two projects to construct temporary facilities, known as COGIM units, until the main hospital is rebuilt.

Ambulance off-loads patient at hospital's makeshift
tent-triage area. (Photo: Dave Bender)

One project is for the structure's outer shell, and will cost just over $2 million dollars. The second, which will kit out the facility's interior, will run to almost seven-and-a-half-million dollars. The say the total bill for the renovation will cost nearly $12.5 million dollars.

Republican Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson announced the step on Monday.
Both termed the cash influx as vital, and praised the hospital and the community's ability to cope with hardships in the tornado's wake.

FEMA will distribute the money to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, who will in turn disburse the funds to cover the project's expenses.

Twinned Japanese city group visits Americus

Group members meet with Sumter Middle School Principal,
Mrs. Carolyn Hamilton. Center: Superintendent Sawako Hisashi.
(Courtesy Sumter Co. School Board)

Seven adults and 35-schoolchildren from sister city Miyoshi City - Konu Town, are visiting under the auspices of a municipal friendship pact.

The group will take part in a memorial for the two victims of the twister that tore through the city on March 1st.

Map showing twister's destructive swath.
Click photo for larger image. (Dave Bender)

A Sumter County Board of Education official told the Americus Times-Recorder the sister city donated $14,000 to Americus, which used the funds to purchase the memorial.

The group will stay with host families, and students will attend a local school and take part in other events with their Georgian counterparts.

Previous GPB News coverage of the tornado is here.

Tornadoes confirmed: state of emergency declared

At least five tornadoes hit west central, north central, and central Georgia early Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Tornadoes may have also touched down in Johnson, Treutlen, Fulton and Troup counties, according to reports.

Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in Bibb, Carroll, Douglas, Jefferson, Johnson and Laurens counties Sunday evening.

"Last night's storms left trees downed, houses damaged and roads blocked across western and central Georgia," Perdue said.

"Needed state resources are being made available to assist in the cleanup efforts, and we will continue to actively work with local officials to support them"

The step enables the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) to initiate emergency operations.

Damaged houses on Lake Tobesofkee. (Woody Marshall, The Macon Telegraph)

"As with all disasters, GEMA will coordinate the deployment of public safety agencies, utility companies and the volunteer community to meet the needs of our citizens," GEMA Director Charley English said.

An EF2 tornado packing winds of 111 to 135 mph hit Macon between 5:45 and 6 a.m. Sunday morning, local officials said.

Laurens Co. resident Tracey Clements, was killed in his mobile home by the storm, Laurens County coroner Richard Stanley said, according to Macon.com.

Clements' wife and children sustained varying degrees of injuries when the winds flipped over their double-wide trailer, Stanley said.

Macon Mayor Robert Reichert said Perdue is expected to visit the area on Monday to assess the damage.

A tornado touched down at Macon State College's campus, causing significant damage, and uprooting or breaking about half the trees on campus, according to the National Weather Service.

The college will be closed on Monday.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the twister and storm damage.

FEMA denies storm aid

The federal government has turned down Cherokee County's request for disaster aid for victims of a tornado on May 20th. The money would have gone to uninsured victims. The twister caused about $3 million in uninsured damage. FEMA said it denied the request because there was not enough uninsured damage in the county to meet federal requirements.