Woman killed by tornado mourned, search for dogs continues
The News Review:
- Woman killed by tornado mourned, search for dogs continues
- Tornado tests Gwinnett’s emergency responders
- Georgia tornado damage estimate up to $250M
Woman killed by tornado mourned, search for dogs continues
Atlanta Journal Constitution – Mar 18, 2008
Bonnie Turner, 63, a retired veterinary assistant, died when the EF-3 tornado, stronger than the EF-2 that ran through downtown Atlanta, plowed through their living room and threw the couple 50 yards. Mike Turner, 65, a Lockheed Martin retiree, had surgery Monday in Chattanooga for a shattered pelvis. The tornado touched down at 12:25 p. Saturday northwest of Aragon and traveled 16 miles across parts of Polk, Floyd and Bartow counties before lifting southwest of Cartersville 20 minutes later, according to the National Weather Service. Winds reached 150 mph. One other person was killed mdash; Jerry Albers, 71, of Floyd County mdash; and three were injured… Relatives picked through the rubble of the Turners’ flattened two-story home Monday, collecting family photos, insurance papers and mementos. Among the debris were many green, red and blue United Kennel Club ribbons and wheels from the miniature tractors Mike Turner collected. The tornado also flattened a workshop and barn. Little resembling a home remains. The Turners were talking to relatives on the phone shortly before the tornado hit, saying they were about to take shelter in a stairwell, nephew Tim Jackson said as he surveyed the damage. They had no basement or cellar to take cover in, Jackson said. “Mike has no memory other than they were fixing to take shelter in the stairway and the next thing he remembers is being out in the pasture,” Jackson said.
Tornado tests Gwinnett’s emergency responders
Atlanta Journal Constitution – Mar 18, 2008
Through the weekend, he and a few other officers tracked the storms as they moved across the area. Gwinnett County was largely spared, but area residents and public safety officials have experienced nature’s wrath before. In 1998 a tornado, with estimated winds up to 112 mph, left a path of damage 19 miles long and a half mile wide, beginning just northeast of Perimeter Mall in DeKalb County and extending into Gwinnett County. Should it happen again, the county is prepared. Disaster preparedness falls mainly on Gwinnett’s relatively-new homeland security department. The county has six full-time and two part time emergency management employees and a $577,000 operating budget in 2008, said Greg Swanson, the county’s emergency services coordinator. “We strive to develop emergency capabilities that can be used for incidents of many types,” Swanson said… The city’s emergency preparedness plan reflects language in both of the county emergency plans. Loganville police would contact the county in which the disaster has occurred for support. “If we had a tornado the magnitude that hit in Atlanta, we don’t have the resources to deal with that by ourselves. ” said operations commander Dick Lowry with the Loganville police department. “We are fairly well covered in Walton and Gwinnett. If disaster struck Snellville, police would establish an incident command post and log 12-hour shifts. Public works would help to clear roads and offer other support.
Georgia tornado damage estimate up to $250M
Business Insurance – Mar 18, 2008
“That figure includes damage from across the state, such as Polk and Bartow counties, where damage was quite extensive,” Mr. Oxendine said in statement. “This storm caused the largest loss yet recorded in our state for tornado damage. ”
The tornado damaged state-owned facilities in downtown Atlanta, including the Georgia Dome. The Georgia World Congress Center Authority canceled or postponed several weekend events, including the Atlanta Home Show, because of the storms. “We self-insure the first $3 million per occurrence. After that we go into our reinsurance layers.