10 Years Later: Hurricane Ivan
It’s been 10 years since Hurricane Ivan ripped through Alabama, a devastating storm that left some residents even in the dark for days. Now, we’re taking you back in time to show you the damage and what residents learned from the storm…
When Hurricane Ivan struck the Gulf Coast some residents say they didn’t realize it would affect central Alabama as much as it did — and they say it’s one storm they’ll never forget.
Three days of non-stop coverage of Hurricane Ivan.
There were winds up to 165 miles per hour. A category 5 hurricane killing nearly 100 people in the state and also leaving a path of destruction in central Alabama. Streets were filled with fallen trees and split powerlines in Montgomery.
“We got some saws from somewere around here helping cut down trees,” Said Carolyn King, whose family had to evacuate from their Cloverdale home.
Others like little Isabelle Goulet couldn’t get to the hospital. She says she had a staph infection.
“Sost of of the doctors offices and hospitals were closed unless you had severe injuries,” Said 11-year-old Goulet after hearing stories from her parents.
A storm so bad, it left more than 800,000 Alabamians without power, including Alabama News Network. You can even hear a generator in the back ground. It’s what kept the station on the air.
But in 2014 things have changed….
“We’ve added satellite trailers to our fleet where we can deploy those technologies in a disaster area more quickly,” Said Mike Jordan with Alabama Power.
As for the city, Mayor Todd Strange says they’ve made changes to their hurricane plans…
“Get your streets cleaned first. Get your debris to the side, once you’ve got your streets open you’ve got to systematically go back and get the debris removed. Then after that you send your urban forester,” Said Strange.
After the storm hit, there was also a need for more places for people to take shelter as everyone headed north from the Gulf. So more gyms and churches have become safe places since then.
City leaders say having social media and smartphones is now a huge help for them to get the word out about any disaster.
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