Severe storms carrying tornadoes, hail and damaging winds made its way to the Southeast from the Mississippi Valley Monday, leaving at least five people dead across the region.

And though neighboring counties weren’t as lucky—including Crenshaw County, which experienced a tornado that affected at least 40 Luverne businesses and residences—Butler County was left relatively untouched.

Butler County EMA director Shirley Sandy said that though the county’s continued fortune with regards to storm damage was hard to explain, she wasn’t complaining about the outcome.

“It wasn’t as bad here,” Sandy said.

“We’ve had trees down on roads, and I think a couple of houses may have had a little bit of damage.”

“But it wasn’t that bad—not compared to what it could’ve been or compared to other counties.”

Sandy also reported that nearly 1,000 customers in the area were left without power at some point, though many, if not all, of those issues have been addressed.

The resulting damage to Butler County is a far cry from what many experts had predicted for the area. 

Several school districts in Alabama were closed or planned to dismiss students early Monday, including schools in Butler, Lowndes, Crenshaw and Pike counties, in preparation for the damaging storms. 

According to Alabama Power, the storms left more than 27,000 homes and businesses without power across the state.