(MOBILE, Ala.) Cleaning up after the Christmas day tornado will take days, for some even weeks. People on more than one of the side streets along Old Shell Road woke up to the aftermath Wednesday.
"The front of the house is pretty much gone, crushed and that tree is down inside the living room. Other than that the back of the house is good. We had windows blow out and our sun room all the windows blew out. We pretty much have to start over from there," said Sterling Williams, who lives near Old Shell Road.
Emergency Management officials say nearly 100 homes were damaged in the path of the storm. Most of those home are in the Midtown area near Old Shell. Ten homes were severely damaged or destroyed, 25 with moderate damage, says the EMA. Four maybe six blocks of sheer destruction. Oak trees toppled over, roofs missing and cars destroyed here.
Jane Radka remembers the tornado's approach right around 5pm she and her husband were trapped.
"I started running into the hall which is our safe place. My husband was in the study and I started yelling for him to come and he did not get there. He's on a walker and it was hard for him to maneuver and get around. After the horrible noises passed I ran in there. There was debris all over the place. I picked up his walker and got him," said Radka, who lives near Old Shell Road.
People were seen boarding up and cleaning up. Neighbors were helping neighbors, at one home several dozen folks came to help. Most had heard the call through social media like Facebook.
One neighbor said. "It's time like these when you find out who your friends really are," said Jane Martin, whose nephew posted a help plea online. "It's how you get through these things. It's with love and support and family and friends."
