“This was the worst damage that I’ve seen from a tornado,” said David Thornburg, Section Chief, Alabama Fire College. The second tornado, though less severe, struck along nearly the same path as the first. Winds in the first tornado exceeded 170 miles-per-hour and left a trail of destruction nearly a mile wide and 24 miles long. The scale and scope of two tornadoes that hit Lee County, Alabama in early March 2019 surprised many experts.
The first installment focuses on quantifying the damage to receive federal assistance dollars. This is the second of a two-part story about assessing damages from the devastating tornadoes in Lee County, Alabama. Data gathered immediately after the response helps local authorities during the long-term recovery and rebuilding effort.The Emergency Operations Center receives real-time feeds from field apps and aggregates the full picture for situational awareness.First responders use maps and apps to understand the impact of a disaster.
