As volunteers and donations poured into Lee County following a deadly tornado outbreak on March 3, Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief (ABDR) teams joined volunteers from several agencies in the recovery effort.

“I’ve seen a tremendous number of volunteers out here helping from the community and from far away,” said Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief strategist Mark Wakefield. “That’s not uncommon after a storm, but the number of deaths has touched people deeply, and they’ve rallied from many places to help.”

Community devastation

Wakefield said the destruction in the Beauregard community of Lee County is “as bad as anything I’ve ever seen.” Preliminary data from the National Weather Service (NWS) indicates six tornadoes struck on March 3: the EF-4 tornado that hit Beauregard/Smiths Station with winds up to 170 mph; an EF-2 tornado in Macon/Lee counties with winds up to 115 mph; two EF-2 tornado touchdowns in Barbour County; and EF-0 tornadoes that touched down briefly in Autauga and Bullock counties.

Continue reading this article originally published at TheAlabamaBaptist.org – https://www.thealabamabaptist.org/the-number-of-deaths-has-touched-people-deeply-disaster-relief-efforts-wrapping-up-in-lee-county-as-community-turns-to-long-term-recovery/