Five Years Later: Remembering the deadly Lee County tornado
Sunday, March 3, marks five years since an EF-4 tornado hit the Beauregard community in Lee County, killing 23 people.
It was the 8th deadliest tornado in Alabama history.
On Sunday, the community will come together at Providence Baptist Church to remember the 23 people whose lives were lost on March 3, 2019.
Action 8 News talked to people who will remember that day forever. Their possessions, collected over a lifetime, were destroyed and scattered in a matter of minutes when the tornado hit.
“Nobody could understand why our house was still here and theirs was gone, and we had no answer except God,” Jackie Robertson said. Her house was spared, but her son Ben and his wife and their five-year-old son’s home just down the road took a direct hit.
She frantically called to check on them. “He finally answered, and it didn’t even sound like him, and I said, “Y’all ok?”and he said, “No mama, we’re hurt bad.”
The roads were blocked with downed trees and storm debris, so they couldn’t get through so they went to the local hospital and waited.
“The hospital was like something you would see in a movie. You would never dream it would happen here. There were so many people there in the ER and people trying to find their loved ones. My daughter-in-law, when she woke up, he said she was tangled up in some trees and he didn’t know if she was dead or not. When she came to, she had a broken pelvis, fractures, thought her back was broke.”
Providence Baptist Church served as a community center in the aftermath of the storm. Church secretary Jennifer Hughes has preserved dozens of cards and letters sent by people from around the country and world.
“And this is just a small amount. The emails came in by the thousands. And the families probably just don’t even know what is all here.”
They show the kindness of strangers wanting to help. One even sent in a small amount, $1.26.
Five years later, Senior Pastor Dr. Rusty Sowell said, “We’ve got a ways to go but there’s healing. People came from everywhere, the generosity, the compassion, the giving of themselves & what they had or what they could do. Maybe it was just a touch on the shoulder or a hug. We’re very thankful for the generosity & compassion & for the folks who care.”
President Trump visited Beauregard in the days after the storm hit. A red caboose will be converted into a children’s library soon to honor the four children killed in the tornado.
