County escapes brunt of the storm

Published 8:14 am Thursday, April 28, 2011

A daylong barrage of tornadoes tore through Alabama on Wednesday leaving at least 204 people dead, and houses, businesses and government buildings destroyed.

Gov. Robert Bentley declared a state of emergency for the entire state Wednesday and also mobilized 1,400 Alabama National Guardsmen. The soldiers will help with search and rescue operations, debris removal and provide security assistance to local law enforcement agencies.

According to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, the damage is so widespread that it’ll likely be several days before the full death toll and property destruction are assessed across the state.

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In the state EMA’s latest situation report, 27 counties, primarily in the northern portion of the state, reported heavy damage. The EMA defines heavy damage as multiple damage reports to infrastructure and/or casualties reported. Nine more counties reported light damage, which the EMA defines as minor damage reports and/or media damage reports only.

Butler County, which had two tornadoes touch down on April 15 according to Butler County Emergency Management Director Bob Luman, did not report any damage.