February 18, 2008 - Prattville, AL Tornado

Online reports indicated that 200 homes and 40 businesses were affected by another tornado. There was no indication whether the storm caused total destruction or whether the houses sustained minimal damage. The reports were inconclusive but from what we could gather the storm was bad so we decided it would be best for us to respond.

We arrived in Prattville, Alabama, eight hours later. The city was somewhat in a daze. Traffic was everywhere, and there was no heavy equipment brought in to help. The federal government provided no aid and the National Guard came with no equipment – just volunteers. We were the only ones who came with equipment to clean up the streets and neighborhoods. Within 30 minutes of my arrival I met the local leaders who were in charge. Edward Clinton, the Director of Solid Waste for Prattville, welcomed us into the city and within no time Disaster Recovery Solutions’ First Response Team was working side-by-side with the city workers and their limited equipment.

We began to open up roads within hours of our arrival but I was interested in finding out what resources this small community had to see if there was a way we could work together.