City of Eutaw trying to recover from 3 tornadoes in 9 months

Published: Jan. 13, 2023 at 7:33 PM CST|Updated: Jan. 15, 2023 at 8:59 PM CST
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EUTAW, Ala. (WBRC) - During the severe storms on Thursday, Eutaw was hit with a tornado for the third time in nine months.

Town officials called a news conference Friday morning and released some numbers based on their assessment of the damage so far.

Town leaders say at one point, dozens of homes were without power and 33 homes sustained damage in the storm, 3 of them destroyed.

Mayor LaTasha Johnson says they could use some volunteers to help city work crews clean up the mess such as fallen trees and limbs. The mayor and city councilwoman Tracey Hunter made a point to say this was the third time Eutaw had been hit by a tornado since April 2022. They encouraged their fellow residents to focus on unity and patience and allow city crews to do their part to get the town cleaned up.

“We’re asking people, we’re asking volunteers to help out and help us remove some of the debris because we have a lot of trees down in different areas,” said Mayor Johnson.

“It’s devastating for the community, but as I stated, unity is very important and I feel that once we have unity, the job will get done,” said Councilwoman Hunter.

“It’s just mind-boggling. I just come to the conclusion that you can’t take anything for granted, you can’t take anything for granted. You must do everything in your power to help the citizens in their need and their time in distress,” said Greene County EMA Director Hodges Smith.

“It’s kind of like Déjà vu. In November, it was the same place, same damage and I do know a few of those residents they just got their homes repaired from the last tornado,” said Greene County EMS Director Christopher Jones.

A curfew remains in effect from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. until further notice, according to the mayor. The police department says there’ve been no curfew violators.

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