Eastern Ky. native storm chases, responds to disaster in Alabama
SELMA, Ala. (WYMT) - Video from 606 Storm Chaser and Perry County native Chris Hall showed his team loading up generators onto a U-Haul truck for Selma, Alabama tornado survivors.
5 generators later, she will be filled to the brim. Thank you to the y'all squad for making this happen for Alabama. @ryanhallyall pic.twitter.com/0vwhPm1Ney
— Chris Hall, Y'all (@ChrisHallWx) January 14, 2023
“At the time of the Selma tornado, I was in Kentucky I was near the Harrodsburg area, when the EF1 [tornado] struck Harrodsburg,” Hall said. “I instantly went home and I was in Selma that night.”
Hall documented his trip to Selma on Twitter. Video shows extensive damage to buildings and homes in the city of more than 17 thousand people.
Talking to folks who live in the area of Selma, AL. Worst they have ever seen. This brick church tore to shreds. pic.twitter.com/S70c9zKK0s
— Chris Hall, Y'all (@ChrisHallWx) January 13, 2023
“Folks are starting to do the cleanup process, power is starting to come back on in a lot of the communities,” he added.
He recalled a moment when he saw an 82-year-old woman walking to the post office. She was going to file an insurance claim. He gave her a ride through town.
“She was just in shock after we drove down the tornado debris path,” Hall said. “She said ‘Lord, I shouldn’t be going to do an insurance claim, my little poor little wooden house didn’t get nothing compared to these guys.’”
Hall partnered with the Marco Patriots organization from Marco Island, Florida. His team helped them cook nearly three thousand meals. That same organization also served meals to flood survivors in Eastern Kentucky.
Today, I was standing in line at Walmart with @ChrisHallWx so I could restock our feeding station in Selma, AL when he whipped out his card and picked up the tab!
— Marco Patriots (@MarcoPatriotsHQ) January 15, 2023
SHOUT OUT Y’ALL SQUAD! Thank you @ryanhallyall #Alabama #Tornadoes pic.twitter.com/SqwsBQILeZ
“You know, you have multiple tornadoes survivors coming through saying this is the worst storm they had ever seen in their town,” he said. “You know, a lot of them are just thankful to be alive.”
You can see more reporting on the Selma tornado from WYMT’s sister station WSFA here.
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