Community looks to future, rebuilding of Flatwood after tornado
Bettie McKinney's grandson called her in Wednesday's early morning hours to warn her about a tornado that was tearing through Flatwood, a small community north of Montgomery where she lives.
The tornado ripped off part of McKinney's roof, broke out four windows and drove a pole through her trailer. McKinney said she probably would have died if not for her grandson's call.
“It was God working," she said.
When the storm quieted, McKinney looked out the window at the devastation that wrecked her neighborhood.
“I’ve never seen anything so bad," she said.
Two days later, McKinney stood in front of her home, wrapped in a blanket, as men with Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief cleared the debris from her yard.
McKinney does not know how she will rebuild her home. She said she is taking problems one step at a time.
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However, she said she was floored by the number of people who arrived in Flatwood to help after the storm. She said people she does not even know are “showing their love for us."
Vickie Griffith, a chaplain with Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief out of Clanton, stood with McKinney outside her home Friday.
“We’re just on mission because we’re Christians, and this is part of the Christian mission," Griffith said.
About 55 Valiant Cross Academy high schoolers and middle schoolers joined the clean-up efforts Friday morning, said Anthony Brock, who helped found the academy and serves as its headmaster. About 10 staff members arrived to help out as well.
“They all wanted to come," Brock said.
Brock emphasized that the tragedy could happen to anyone. He hopes the experience will teach his students to be compassionate.
“Here in Montgomery, we believe we’re all one family," he said.
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Grady Hicks was also out in Flatwood on Friday morning, helping to patch up his friend's home and clear debris from the yard.
“(We're) just up here cleaning up," Hicks said.
Two trees fell on Alfonza Burch's home during the storm. Both his roof and his floor need repairs, and although Burch does not have insurance and does not know how he will fix his home, he trusts that the Lord will provide for him.
“Whatever God yields, that’s what it’ll be," he said.
Burch said if he could get through his mother's death in 2005, he can handle the aftermath of the storm.
"If I can deal with death, I know I can deal with this," he said.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: After Flatwood tornado, a community begins to rebuild
