Cleanup Underway After Possible Tornado Hits Troy
2019 has been a rough year for Alabama’s weather. The latest storms occurred Sunday after a possible tornado hit Troy in the early morning hours while residents slept in their beds.
Resident James Thamas left his home to seek shelter. He didn’t make it far before having to pull into a near gas station to lay down in his truck.
“Ten minutes later, all I heard was something like a bunch of motorcycles coming,” Thamas says. “Transformers were blowing like a war times. So that’s the last thing I remember. ”
Thamas says he’s not sure if his home survived the storm.
Now clean up efforts are underway, with crews working to repair electricity and storm debris.
“There’s a lot of damage, a lot of trees down, a lot of power lines down,” Troy mayor Jason Reeves says. “There’s a lot of roof and structure damage to different places.”
Some of that damage occurred in the Hunter’s Mountain trailer park, where three trailers were flipped over.
Resident Rickey Lahey lives in the trailer park. He and his fiancé awoke to the sound of glass shattering.
“We started hearing a little bit of noise and then we wake up, glass is hitting me in the back.” Lahey says. “We stand up and we go to look out and I could literally see my neighbors kitchen out of my window.”
His brother Julian Lahey was visiting from Florida.
“Everybody’s kind of like a close-knit family and it’s just tough you know, seeing everybody out here scrambling and messed up, you know. It just kinda happened like that,” Julian says.
Only minor injuries have been reported.
Residents say their damaged belongings can be replaced, but their lives cannot.
“It could have been the house instead of the car and I’m glad God spared my family and anybody else around here,” resident Rebecca Boykins says. “I hope God spared their life, too. Because the way it is, it’s messed up but God is good.”
Reeves is urging caution as power crews and emergency responders work to repair powerlines and clean up the debris.
“It’s important that as we clean up, that people stay off the roads and just protect themselves. Be careful,” Reeves says.
Troy University released a statement saying all students living in dorms were safe
Damage has also been reported in the town of Goshen from a possible tornado.
