2 reported dead in central Alabama as residents begin cleanup process after severe storms

CALERA, Ala. – When severe weather tore through central Alabama on Saturday night, residents in Calera were told to take cover after a tornado was spotted in the area. 

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey confirmed at least two people were killed from the severe storms that ripped through the state Saturday. One person died in Plantersville, while another was killed in Winterboro, Ivey said. 

The governor also said 52 out of 67 counties in the state reported damage from the severe weather. 

In Dallas County, Alabama, the sheriff’s office shared aerial photos of the damage in the area. 

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The photos show trees toppled and debris littering the ground. In both photos, a building is flipped over. 

The National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Alabama, is located in Calera, and forecasters had to take cover in their building’s break room during the storms. 

FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell reported live from Calera on Sunday morning, where she spoke to Tim Striegel, a man whose mobile home was destroyed during the storms.

Striegel said his phone started alerting him to a tornado in the area, and he wasn’t sure if he and his daughter should stay in their home or leave to take shelter elsewhere. 

He said he called a good friend, who told him to come up to his house and take shelter in the basement. 

“It was not a few minutes after we left, and got up there, that it hit,” Striegel said, standing outside the wreckage of his home. “And it just destroyed it.” 

One corner of the home remained standing in the background, as Striegel’s things laid scattered across the ground. 

Striegel said he was able to save a Bible from the wreckage that was sentimental to him. “I wrote down in it the date of my baptism, and it really meant a lot,” he said. 

“It was just laying out here. I had to pick it up,” he said. 

He said he was renting to own his mobile home, and on a whim, he decided to get insurance on the home the day before the storm hit. 

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“Twenty-four hours later, my trailer is destroyed,” Striegel said. “That’s crazy.” 

Streigel said he’s getting through the day grateful that he and his daughter were OK, and no one in Calera was injured. 

“This, this is nothing. This is just a property that can be replaced,” he said. “But me and my daughter, that’s a blessing.” 

Striegel told Campbell he believes his home was damaged by straight-line winds, not a tornado, as his home was the only one destroyed in the trailer park, but the NWS will have to survey to determine what truly caused the damage.