From left, Brantley Bruce, Luke Smith and Luis Garcia walk
through debris on the farm of Steve Rogers as they and others
clean up damage from strong storms that destroyed several
houses in DeKalb County, Ala., on April 28.FEMA HELPStorm victims who might qualify for assistance should contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency at 800-621-3362, FEMA.gov or call the DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency at 256-845-8569 for more information.
The storms that struck Northeast Alabama and South Central Tennessee on April 28 produced the fourth-largest tornado outbreak in North Alabama history, officials said.
The National Weather Service office in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed seven tornadoes ranging from EF0 to EF3 touched down in DeKalb County that day, and 23 were confirmed in the North Alabama and South Central Tennessee coverage area, DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency director Anthony Clifton said Friday.
Clifton said 51 homes were damaged, with 16 of them destroyed, and 20 homes were left with major damage. Of those 16 homes, 10 were traditional homes and the others were mobile homes, he said. The county received a presidential disaster declaration.
The severity of the storms has escaped notice because much of the damage was in very rural areas, he said.