Oxendine: Over $150 million in Atlanta storm damage

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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)

Severe storms leave two dead

Blown out windows can be seen behind the rubble of a heavily damaged building in downtown Atlanta, caused by a tornado which struck the area late Friday night. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

At least two people have died in Polk and Floyd counties from powerful storms near the state border with Alabama. The latest severe weather comes after a Tornado with winds of up to 130 miles per hour trashed downtown Atlanta last night. At least 27 people were hurt.

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

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine estimated damage from Friday night's storm at $150 million to $200 million, most of it at the Georgia World Congress Center, a state convention facility near the CNN Center and the Georgia Dome.

People walk away from the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta Saturday morning. The hotel was damaged from a tornado which struck the area late Friday night. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

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)

Tornado Confirmed in NE Georgia Saturday

Violent storms that moved across north Georgia Saturday spawned at least one confirmed tornado in northeast Georgia.

The National Weather Service in Greenville, SC said a tornado touched down in Franklin and Hart County Saturday afternoon.

“The tornado moved across an intermediate track from Franklin Springs in Franklin County to just south of Royston in Hart County. Winds were estimated to be between 70 and 80mph along this track,” explained meteorologist John Tomko.

Tomko said the EF1 tornado cut a swath about three miles long.

Franklin Springs residents in the path of the storm reported numerous downed trees and power lines, but no injuries. Hart County EMC, which serves the area reported about 1,000 homes without power.

Royston reported dime-sized hail, but no major damage and no injuries.

Meantime in Banks County, shoppers at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Commerce reported being stuck for a time Saturday afternoon as strong winds, rain, and dime-sized hail battered the area, but no major damage was reported.

Rare Snow Blankets South as East Braces For Storm (Photos)

A powerful March snowstorm blanketed much of Alabama and then marched across Georgia on Sunday, forcing some flight cancellations in Atlanta as the East Coast braced for a potential pummeling.

Peachtree Ave., midtown Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, Mar. 1, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

The weather service said winter storm warnings are in effect from northern Georgia and the Carolinas through the Mid-Atlantic states into New England.

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways canceled some Sunday flights and a Federal Aviation Administration Web site said flights to
Atlanta were experiencing average delays of nearly two hours.

AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said flights out of Atlanta into the Northeast may also be canceled Sunday night as the messy, developing storm took aim at walloping at wide swath of the East Coast up through Maine.

"I expect the Northeast will be hit pretty hard tonight so our expectations is that people flying into Washington, D.C., and Boston will need to call or check our Web site for possible cancellations," Hutcheson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Delta spokesman Brian Kruse said the airline is monitoring the weather and asking customers flying to, from or through Atlanta to call Delta or check its Web site for updates.

Georgia Tech students A.D. Barfield, Lily Manavi, and Candace Farr discuss the merits of their snowman. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Despite above-freezing temperatures, a heavy flurry of snow fell on downtown Atlanta, blanketing cars and creating slushy streets and sidewalks. It hadn't snowed in Atlanta for more than a year — the area received 1.4 inches of snow in January 2008, said Laura Griffith of the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Ga.

I-75/85 connector, near 14th St. bridge construction. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Georgia transportation officials warned of potential icy conditions on roadways in middle and northern counties through Monday morning. No icing on roadways, bridges or other overpasses had been reported through midday Sunday, but as temperatures drop Sunday night, officials warn motorists that ice could be a threat.

Outside the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, Flori Kwon of Claremont, Calif. took pictures of her son Jake, 5, playing in the snow.

"He wants to make a snowman but I don't think there's enough snow," Kwon said while large snowflakes landed in her hair. "We're kind of surprised it's snowing."

The late Southern snowfall brought back memories of a large storm in 1993 that forecasters nicknamed the "Snowfall of the Century," affecting the region from Alabama to north of Washington, D.C. on March 13, 1993, Griffith said. In that storm, Atlanta received 4.2 inches of snow and 13 inches of snow fell on Birmingham, Ala.


Pedestrians and snowmen at an overpass in midtown Atlanta. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Meanwhile, tornado watches were in effect from northern Florida into coastal Georgia and southern South Carolina.

Crossing Peachtree Ave., in midtown Atlanta, as the snow blows around. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Despite above-freezing temperatures in downtown Atlanta, a heavy curtain of snow fell on cars and caused traffic accidents on slushy streets. The unusual weather prompted 26-year-old Jessi Prahl and Max DiPace to take their dog, Cooper, on a walk through snow-covered Piedmont Park in Atlanta.

Says Prahl: "You know us Southerners, we all freak out when it snows."

(AP)
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Send us your snow photos (in standard .jpg format), and we'll post the best ones here: dbender at gpb dot org (replace the "at" with @ and "Dot" with .)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of today's wintry weather.

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.

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: 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.

Report: schools need tornado-proof room

Federal weather officials said a March 1st tornado outbreak that struck Alabama and Georgia, killing eight students huddled inside Enterprise High School in Alabama, showed the need for a "hardened safe room" for use during storms.

The National Weather Service says in its report today that Enterprise school officials and students followed appropriate safety measures before and during the tornado, but the storm demonstrated the need for a safe-room shelter. Besides the deaths in Enterprise, the tornado outbreak killed six people in a mobile home park near Newton, Ggeorgia, and five others elsewhere in Alabama and Georgia.

The Weather Service report says a total of 31 verified tornadoes struck 45 counties in Georgia and south Alabama, including 13 packing winds of 113 miles an hour or stronger. The deadliest hit Enterprise with winds of 200 miles an hour.

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.

Macon tornado clean up continues

Scenes of the tornado cleanup in Macon: a wood chipper grinds through debris, as a backhoe digs through hills of fallen trees nearby. (Josephine Bennet)

Macon Mayor Robert Reichert is urging residents to be patient. Nearly two months after an F-2 tornado crisscrossed its way through the city the cleanup continues.

Original predictions by the Federal Emergency Management Agency underestimated the amount of debris left by the storm. Reichert says 250 truckloads a day are being brought to a large dump site located near a paper mill operated by Graphic Packaging. The paper mill is recycling some of the debris. FEMA regulations say all trucks must be weighed and counted.

"We've got thousands of dump truck loads to gather up and bring here. Thousands of them. Each load has to be monitored to be sure that it is filled and appropriately packed because FEMA regulations require that the loads be monitored."

The mayor says it will be up to 60 days before they are finished. He says some of the wood waste is being turned into mulch. That mulch will eventually be available free of charge to residents.

Original estimates put the cost of debris removal at 1.2 million dollars. That figure is expected to rise.

Perdue requests federal disaster declaration

Governor Sonny Perdue has asked President George Bush to declare north Georgia county a federal disaster area.People in Cherokee county are recovering from the May 20th severe thunderstorms and a tornado.The declaration gives storm victims and the county access to federal aid This week the President declared 42 other storm-damaged counties in Georgia federal disaster areas.

Georgia officials hunting "storm-chaser" contractors

One of the results of the EF-2 tornado that plowed through Macon on May 11th: a resident salvages belongings in a demolished building in the city's business district. (Josephine Bennet)

The State of Georgia is cracking down on “fly-by-night” contractors who don't take proper care of their workers.

The State Board of Workers' Compensation arrested several subcontractors in Macon and the Bibb County area this week.

The collars are part of a sweep to enforce state laws requiring employers to insure their crews.

Stan Bexley heads the board's enforcement division:

“As a result of the sweep thus far, we've had five criminal warrants issued, three arrests have been made and seven premium fraud cases have been opened for further investigation.”

Bexley warns homeowners to watch out for so-called “storm-chasers,” who arrive after bad weather, do shoddy repairs with substandard parts, and then take off without guaranteeing their work.

SBWC officials are focusing on areas that were hard-hit by a string of tornadoes on May 11th that caused several million dollars in damage.

More information is available at the SBWC website.http://tiny.cc/aB1bT.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the damages caused by the tornadoes.

Storm rips through downtown Atlanta causing major damage

A storm in Atlanta last night injured at least 20 people in its path. It came down hard on the area around Centennial Olympic park. Forty-foot billboards and trees toppled, cutting power lines and destroying cars. Glass and debris littered the streets throughout downtown. It interrupted an SEC championship game at the Georgia Dome. Outside Anne Stith of Lexington, Kentucky was selling t-shirts.

"I was trying to get the t-shirts off of the counter into the trailer and I felt the trailer lift up," she said. " You could see it clearly. It was a twister."

The path of destruction continued through neighborhoods. It moved into Cabbage Town. Debra Spitzer was visiting her brother there when a huge oak tree crashed through the roof.

"And all he could holler was, 'Sis, where are you," she said. "Bricks and stuff was just falling on me and I just said God help me, please God."

Spitzer's brother was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. The city has canceled a St. Patricks Day parade. The remaining SEC championship games have been moved to Georgia Tech because of damage to the Georgia Dome. There was no tornado warning and Mayor Franklin promised a thorough investigation. Thousands of people are still without power.

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.

Thomasville, Area Residents Take Stock in Tornadoes' Wake (photos)

Last Thursday's tornadoes caused heavy damage to a mental hospital and two counties in southwest Georgia.

Red dots represent the tornadoes' damage track near Thomasville, Ga. Click image for larger graphic. (Courtesy: NOAA)

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine visited and flew over areas hit by the twisters, and puts an over $10 million dollar price tag on the damage.

The tornadoes blew down two pine trees across this house off State Highway 319, south of Thomasville. Ga., in this photo taken on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009. (Photo courtesy Greg Miller)

He says he was surprised by the extent of the destruction, and adds that Thomas County sustained the greatest damage statewide:

"In Thomas and Grady County there were about 100 homes and other structures that were damaged by the two tornadoes that went through Thomas County, and there were about two dozen that were either destroyed or almost destroyed."

The storms wreaked havoc on Southwestern State mental Hospital in Thomasville. Officials, however, report no injuries.

The tornado demolished this enclosed corridor, "part of an old military barracks on the Southwestern State Hospital campus." (Photo: Teresa Williams/Thomasville Times-Enterprise)

Almost 160 patients remain hospitalized at the 420-bed center, although many have been moved to other facilities in Columbus and Milledgeville, for the interim.

Oxendine says his office hopes to meet with counterparts at the Department of Human Resources, who run Southwestern State, in coming days.

The storm's winds overturned this school bus, in the parking lot of the Brookwood school, Thomasville. Ga., in this photo taken on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009. The school sustained damage, but there were no injuries to students or staff, according to the photographer. (Photo courtesy Greg Miller)

Officials estimate the storm's effects statewide at upwards of $35 million dollars.

View Larger Map

Google street level map of Southwestern State Hospital at Thomasville, Ga.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of last week's storms.

Perdue requests federal help for storm damage

Governor Sonny Perdue has requested the federal government for a major disaster declaration to help the city of Atlanta and Fulton County in its cleanup and repair efforts from last weekend's storms. An approval would provide federal funds for emergency response measures and aid for losses.

Perdue made the announcement Monday after concluding a tour of storm-affected areas in northwest Georgia. Polk, Floyd, and Bartow counties were hit by strong storms and tornadoes on Saturday. Two people were reported killed and at least 20 homes destroyed. Perdue says as damage assessments continue to come in, areas of NW Georgia could be added to the declaration request.

State insurance officials now say that the storms that hit Georgia over the past weekend are the most expensive in the state's history--hitting the mark of 250-million dollars. In Atlanta, where a tornado struck the downtown-area Friday night, the damage number is well over 150-million dollars alone.

Sumter, Taylor Co. tornado survivors getting more help

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is awarding $471,000 dollars to Georgia's Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases.

The funds will go toward extending a crisis counseling project for survivors of the tornado that devastated Sumter and Taylor counties March first.

Since the storm, hundreds of people have sought help overcoming psychological stress disorders. Many report suffering from feelings of despondency and helplessness.

Jeannette David, a mental health planner from the Department of Human Resources explains how outreach coordinators aid residents, providing them, "with information on how to cope, how to deal with the that stresses they're experiencing; and to let them know that, probably, any upset that they have or any stresses that they might be feeling is – normal, because they're reacting to an abnormal situation...”

The funding will continue until April, 2008.

More information is available on the survivor helpline at 1-800-342-7843.

GA disaster aid tops $35 M

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security say the funds were a combination of federal, state and local aid to tornado and storm-ravaged areas as of March 1, 2007, according to a DHS statement:

• $24,021,156.23 in public assistance funds
• $3,558,027.60 state share
• $20,463,128.63 FEMA share
• $9,770,700 in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans
• $5,682,200 for homeowners and renters
• $4,088,500 for businesses and economic injury loss
• $1,354,036 in disaster assistance to families
• $906,502 for housing assistance.
• $447,534 for other needs assistance
• $247,450 in disbursed federal disaster unemployment payments

Click here for more GPB severe weather coverage.

Rosalynn Carter, Senate president to aid Americus hospital

Local residents examine overturned vehicle in SRH parking lot the morning after the tornado struck. (Dave Bender)

Georgia Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter are teaming up to help Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus win a new, million-dollar MRI scanner, according to hospital officials.

The hospital used the diagnostic tool to serve thousands of area residents. But twisters that ripped through the town on March 1st destroyed the facility, ruining their existing scanner.

Officials say a new hospital is slated to open it's doors in 2010.

Americus is close to Carter's hometown, Plains.

Click here for more GPB coverage of the storm's aftermath.