More than eight thousand residents of Selma woke up this morning without electricity, after a powerful tornado struck. The website Poweroutage.us reports that over eleven thousand residents of nearby Tallapoosa and Elmore counties are without power. Selma Mayor James Perkins says there are no reports of deaths, but several people are seriously injured. However, officials in nearby Autauga County are reporting seven (updated) deaths following the storm. The situation in Selma was at the top of the agenda during yesterday’s White House briefing with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“Okay, two quick things up top. We saw breaking news about the damage in Selma. First, our hearts and thoughts go out to the community of Selma and everyone affected by the storm,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris visited the historic Alabama town for its 57th “Bridge Crossing Anniversary.” APR student reporter Libby Foster covered the event, and a link to her report is at the foot of this story. Jean-Pierre then spoke about what kind of help Selma can expect from the White House…
“Our team here is monitoring and assessing the situation and reaching out to local and state officials when appropriate to offer our support.”
Incident teams from the National Weather Service also spent the day assessing damage from the storm system. Earlier this week, NWS forecaster Jason Holmes told APR the agency uses field surveys and computer software for its surveys, but eyewitness reports also help a lot…
“We rely on the public and the media for reports. Thank you for these reports. We use radar … we use all these tools and technologies,” Holmes said. “But because we’re able to piece together the whole picture, every report counts.”
The National Weather Service also studies damage to buildings, power lines and even cars in estimating tornado strength. There are also university studies that provide guidance on how a tornado damages buildings, power lines, cars and other objects during a twister. Holmes says that’s important because not all weather damage is automatically the result of a tornado.
“We have to distinguish between tornado damage and what we call straight-line wind damage. Some storms can produce strong winds. But they may not necessarily be spinning in the motion of a tornado.”
Holmes adds that insurance companies also rely on confirmed National Weather Service tornado reports in responding to clients seeking compensation after a storm. He says it’s in everyone’s best interest to report tornado damage to the agency as soon as possible…