More Stories

When the tornado hit, I had no clue anything had happened. Although Prattville is my home, I am currently in Tuscaloosa attending the University of Alabama. When the storm hit I was watching the Daytona 500 with my roommates and saw one of the little state maps in the corner of the screen pointing out the Tornado warnings around the state. My roommate pointed out that Autauga County was highlighted to which I responded “Its probably out in Autaugaville and not much of a tornado, that’s what always happens.” After that I did not give it another thought until about 3:15 when a close friend from Millbrook called to see if my family was ok. This caught me off guard as I was completely oblivious to the fact that a tornado had hit my home. At this point everything became a blur as I tried calling family all over Prattville or even in Birmingham and got no answer. After what seemed like hours, I heard from my parents a little under an hour after the storm hit. My family was lucky in that we had no damage from the storm, but I could not reach my parents because they were out checking on our neighbors. My father went into a house that he believed was in danger of collapsing to go help our neighbor Ms. Mary who was stuck inside. I was crushed after hearing what had happened and devastated when I started hearing stories from friends and seeing the pictures, especially since I could not return home to help due to a number of tests that week. The first chance I had to come home was late on the Friday after the storm. I was amazed at what I saw that night I came home, with all of the destruction that had happened to my neighbors, my friends, and my family. The only comfort I found was that everyone was physically ok. I felt physically sick as I drove to my house and saw the carnage of this disaster. The next morning I woke up to help my parents clean up the mess around our house. Early that morning we were greeted by a number of National Guardsmen asking what they could do to help, which we declined for there were others with greater needs than our own. As I left to go to a friends house across town to pick up some things to help clean up I was shocked to see the sheer volume of people wearing gloves, carrying rakes, and walking from house to house. I watched as two entire busloads of people got off and immediately went to help out. Sunday I was once again saw the same thing as I was working at my home. Seeing the people of Prattville come out like this to help their neighbors that suffered through this disaster reminded my of why I love Prattville and its people. The people of Prattville saw a disaster and quickly rallied to help their neighbors. I want to thank all of the people who came out and sacrificed their time to help their neighbors. The people of Prattville, through their compassion have shown the entire nation why Prattville is “The Preferred Community”.

Kyle Shirley, Janice St.

Another Story

When the tornado swept through Prattville on Sunday, February 17, 2008, I was trying to herd my family into the hall bathroom.  As the sounds of glass breaking and tree limbs smashing into our house, I heard the most indescribable haunting sounds emanating from the storm.  Later that afternoon I was describing the ordeal my family had just witnessed to a close friend from LaGrange, Georgia.  I explained to him that I had heard the voice of an angry God coming from inside the twister.  That night as I lay in the bed in our darkened house, I was thanking God for the fact that no one was killed in the storm even though a large number of houses were destroyed.  Then, I received an inner message, a locution if you will, that clearly was an instruction from God.  He said, “That was not my voice you heard but the voice of the evil one.  It was my hand that saved you and the people of Prattville.  I would not destroy my People whom I love.”  This was not a spoken voice but and inner communication.  This sends shivers through my body and soul when I relive that night of prayer.  I hope that everyone that reads this message will get assurance that God looks after those who believe in Him and he will continue to take care of us until he calls us home.

Anthony Yarbrough

First Tornado Story

The hours and days after a tornado struck Prattville on Feb. 17 made me proud to call the Fountain City my transplanted hometown. Seeing friends and strangers alike unite in the aftermath also made me proud, and as the recovery continues there is a strong spirit of community and vision for the future that is reassuring even in the shadow of such a devastating natural disaster. There are many stories of how God blessed this community and specific individuals by not taking lives even amidst a swath of damage a dozen homes wide through Overlook and other neighborhoods, but among the most miraculous is the story of a family driving in a silver Grand Am on Shelia Boulevard as the tornado struck. Their car was tossed and beaten by debris, and all the windows were blown out causing only minor injuries to the mother, father and small child. Just moments before that family turned on Shelia Boulevard, and as the rains intensified, a young Prattville resident who is a husband and father and active in his community, left from visiting friends on Jenny Drive going to his house across the neighborhood on Sweet Ridge Road. His two minute drive in heavy rain ended in his driveway with him stepping out of his vehicle to see the tornado approaching from behind the Church of the Living Waters. He rushed inside and he and his family took shelter, fearing the tornado was on a collision course with his house. At that same time, that silver Grand Am was on Shelia Boulevard just past Tara Drive heading toward U.S. 31 when they drove straight into the twister. Within seconds it was over, and on Sweet Ridge Road, John Burton stepped outside and surveyed the damage. He saw rooftops missing on Shelia Boulevard, and realizing his home had been spared, he rushed out to find Shelia Boulevard littered with debris and power lines, homes destroyed and people emerging stunned. He also found that family in the Grand Am, and he helped pull them
from their car and to the open refuge of a family who took them into their badly damaged home until efforts could be organized to get them medical attention. Thankfully, their injuries seemed minor. And even minor, their injuries were the most severe we encountered on Shelia Boulevard as a handful of neighbors from streets not as badly affected began going door to door checking on residents, helping them emerge from their damaged homes, turning off broken natural gas and water pipes, and clearing debris for emergency responders. John Burton is the Prattville resident who left his home immediately after the tornado and rushed into uncertain risks to help people in need. As best as I can determine, he was probably the first responder onto Shelia Boulevard and helped pull that family from their demolished Grand Am. There are lots of individual stories about people just like John Burton who responded out of a concern for others, but I wanted to single out John Burton for his selfless attitude, for his commitment to serving in Christ’s example, and for his contributions to his fellow man in a time of such great need.

Tony Harris, Jenny Drive.

 This story can be found on the Tornado Stories page. Other stories as they come up will be posted on that page. You can also add your story as a comment on that page.