On April 27, 2011, a series of tornadoes killed hundreds of people, injured thousands and reduced countless buildings to rubble across a swath of the U.S.
More than 120 tornadoes were reported that day — one of the deadliest outbreaks in the nation’s history. Five years later, some survivors who are still rebuilding say their lives and towns will never be the same.
Casualties were reported in Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama — which was the hardest hit, with a death toll of more than 250 in that state alone.
Survivors there say no tornado warning or emergency plan could have prepared them. Alabamians who lived in the tornadoes’ path are trying to move on, but they face constant reminders of what their towns used to be. New construction is juxtaposed with grassy, wind-swept expanses. Jagged tree trunks have replaced thick woods. Cracked driveways cut through the grass and lead to bare foundations or empty lots where homes used to be.
In this April 27, 2011 photo, a deadly tornado moves through Tuscaloosa, Ala. On April 27, 2011, a series of tornadoes killed hundreds of people, injured thousands and reduced countless buildings to rubble across a swath of the U.S. More than 120 tornadoes were reported that day – one of the deadliest outbreaks in the nation’s history. (Dusty Compton/The Tuscaloosa News, via AP)
Here are some of those survivors’ stories.
A tornado left physical scars in the town of Hackleburg, and it’s still taking a psychological and social toll today.
“The sky even gets dark, and my niece goes to pieces,” Deborah Purser said. “I mean, she starts shaking.”
Hackleburg wouldn’t have rebounded without the volunteers who poured in from across the country, said Purser’s 19-year-old son, Clay Scott. The school and grocery store reopened, but the town of roughly 1,500 no longer feels like home, he said.
“It feels like we live somewhere else, like we’ve moved towns or something,” Purser said.
In this April 29, 2011 photo, a water tower stands amid the damage in Hackleburg, Ala. On April 27, 2011, a series of tornadoes killed hundreds of people, injured thousands and reduced countless buildings to rubble across a swath of the U.S. A tornado left physical scars in the town of Hackleburg, and it’s still taking a psychological and social toll today. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Vince Hughes is still haunted by that same tornado.
Nightmares are less frequent now, but Hughes said he can’t rid himself of the memory of a crying woman who lost her daughter and was left to care for her young granddaughter. The woman is a longtime customer of Hughes, a 53-year-old pharmacist.
“That image sticks out in my mind above most all of them,” he said. “And you saw it repeated over and over and over.”
Hughes and his colleagues set up a temporary pharmacy in a bank lobby, using salvaged medication.
“People needed somewhere to go, and they needed faces to see that they knew,” he said. “Most of my patients aren’t just people that fill prescriptions — they’re friends.”
The tornado had a peak wind speed of 210 mph and left a 25-mile long trail of damage. A separate twister hit Tuscaloosa, where Hughes’ daughter was a student at the University of Alabama. She wasn’t injured.
In this Tuesday, April 19, 2016 photo, an aerial view of the damage path of the tornado near the five year anniversary, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Fifty-three people were killed five years ago in Tuscaloosa, and 253 people were killed when 62 tornadoes struck the state on April 27, 2011. This year marks the fifth year anniversary of the tornados, and construction is still underway in several surrounding areas. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
John Nero, 58, said he lost his home of 20 years when the tornado hit his Tuscaloosa neighborhood. His wife, Pam, suffered a heart attack days later.
The couple’s new home overlooks their former neighborhood. Nero sees the area whenever he opens his front door.
“It used to be an apartment complex right there,” he said, nodding toward a vast overgrown area. “It was flattened, but I could hear people hollering.”
A brick from the nearby College Hill Baptist Church slammed into his upper leg as debris crashed through his home. He still has the brick, as a reminder — God kept him here “to get some things straight,” he said. “That brick didn’t just hit me for no reason.”
John Nero Jr., left, 58, and Pam Nero, 59, both of Tuscaloosa, laugh together at the bottom of their new home’s steps during an interview from the Associated Press, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. “The stress of the storms caused Pam to have a heart attack and a stroke a few months after the tornado according to a doctor,” John says. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
John Nero Jr., 58, of Tuscaloosa, walks around his former neighborhood, with his new home in the background, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Michael and Flora Thomas of Tuscaloosa credit the power of prayer for keeping their home intact.
It was spared from severe damage while nearly every other house on the block in the Alberta City neighborhood was destroyed.
Michael Thomas said he saw the roof of a church hurtling toward him when he looked out the window, and he hid in the bathroom. The windows were blown out and the porch destroyed, but the church’s roof narrowly missed landing on the couple’s home.
“Everything was just torn apart, demolished. They found body parts everywhere,” he said. “You look around and see things and know things will never be the same.”
Sonya Moore and her family were settling into their new Tuscaloosa home and hadn’t even finished unpacking when the tornado came barreling toward them. She and her children hid in a closet.
“We almost lost one of them. The door flung open, and he was so tiny and frail that the wind kind of sucked him up and we had to actually pull him back down,” Moore, 42, said.
Moore’s family emerged uninjured but realized nearly everything around them had been destroyed. Sleepless nights followed. They lived in a temporary shelter, a hotel, a FEMA trailer, and with a relative before finally moving into a Habitat for Humanity home in January 2013.
“We slept on the floor with pillows, blankets whatever we could gather,” she said. “It was just that exciting to be able to turn the key and go into your own home and know that now we’re finally piecing our lives back together.”
In this file photo taken May 4, 2011 photo, Tuscaloosa Fire Lt. Brian Phillips climbs a pile of rubble in search of survivors or bodies at an apartment building in Tuscaloosa, Ala. On April 27, 2011, a series of tornadoes killed hundreds of people, injured thousands and reduced countless buildings to rubble across a swath of the U.S. Casualties were reported in Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama – which was the hardest hit, with a death toll of more than 250 in that state alone. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
In this April 27, 2011 photo, Faye Hyde, right, sits on a mattress in what was her yard as she comforts her granddaughter, Sierra Goldsmith, 2, in Concord Ala. Their home was completely destroyed. (Jeff Roberts/AL.com via AP)
An open lot, a sign, and a cross are all that remain of a College Hill Baptist Church on the five year anniversary of a string of tornados in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The Hackleburg High School sign still stands in front of an empty lot where the school used to be, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Hackleburg, Ala. The high school was rebuilt soon after an EF5 tornado that carved a 25-mile trail of destruction left physical scars on the town of Hackleburg, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
John Nero Jr., 58, of Tuscaloosa, sits on the remains of a brick fireplace in his former neighborhood, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
John Nero Jr., left, 58, and Pam Nero, 59, both of Tuscaloosa, laugh together during an interview from the Associated Press, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. John and Pam sit on the front porch of their new home and talk about how a tornado on April 27, 2011, destroyed their home. Fifty-three people were killed five years ago in Tuscaloosa, and 253 people were killed when 62 tornadoes struck the state on April 27, 2011. This year marks the fifth year anniversary of the tornados, and construction is still underway in several surrounding areas. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
In this Tuesday, April 19, 2016 photo, an aerial view of the damage path of the tornado near the five year anniversary, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
In this Tuesday, April 19, 2016 photo, an aerial view of the damage path of the tornado near the five year anniversary, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
In this Tuesday, April 19, 2016 photo, an aerial view of the damage path of the tornado near the five year anniversary, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
An open lot, a sign, and a cross are all that remain of a College Hill Baptist Church on the five year anniversary of a string of tornados in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
In this Tuesday, April 19, 2016, an aerial view of the damage path of the tornado near the five year anniversary, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
In this Tuesday, April 19, 2016, an aerial view of the damage path of the tornado near the five year anniversary, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Construction of single family homes are underway during the fifth anniversary of a tornado that destroyed many areas around Alabama, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Joyce Wiginton stands in her new home Friday, April 22, 2016, in Hackleburg, Ala. An EF5 tornado that carved a 25-mile trail of destruction left physical scars on the town of Hackleburg, Ala. Fifty-three people were killed five years ago in Tuscaloosa, and 253 people were killed when 62 tornadoes struck the state on April 27, 2011. This year marks the fifth year anniversary of the tornados, and construction is still underway in several surrounding areas. “It don’t even feel like the same place,” said Joyce Wiginton. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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