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October 22, 2014 | northfulton.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 9, No. 42
DONNA AUGELLO
Damage was reported at the Mayfield Place subdivision, which is off Mayfield Road in Alpharetta. This area was hit by a tornado. Inset, Crews were hard at work cleaning up after the storm damage.
Tornado touches down with little warning NWS, local officials confirm Alpharetta not included in tornado warning zone BY CANDY WAYLOCK candy@Northfulton.com NORTH FULTON, Ga. – As a tornado touched down early Oct. 14 in North Fulton, traveling along a 7.5-mile path that would take it through Alpharetta and into East Cobb County, many Alpharetta residents were awakened not by sirens, but generally by howling winds and flying debris. Social media lit up with reports of people finding trees down, backyards destroyed, broken fencing and in one case, a trampoline resting in a neighbor’s tree several hundred feet away. “Woah! Nothing like being awakened to hubs saying ‘we need to go downstairs now!’” wrote Donna Savas, a resident
of Greemont Walk in the area along Rucker Road hit hardest by the storm. “Winds horrible and branches hitting house – now the power’s out, basketball hoop is down, neighbor trees down. And where were those alarms that they test every month?” Turns out, Alpharetta never fell under a tornado watch by the National Weather Service and was therefore not included in any official tornado warnings. The city was under a severe thunderstorm warning, but not at the level that advised activating the city’s sirens. Alpharetta Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard said the city follows the guidelines issued by the Georgia Emergency Manage-
TUTORING
ment Agency on the operation of outdoor warning sirens. Those standards advise sounding alarms only for tornado warnings issued by the NWS, upon visual confirmation from a trained storm spotter, or when the severe thunderstorm warning includes winds approaching 80 miles per hour or capable of producing tennis ball-sized hail. But even if the protocol met the requirements, Alpharetta would have had to rely on a backup plan for alert and warning on the morning of Oct. 14. The main tower for the sirens was damaged after a contractor accident a short time ago and is out of service. “A tower company destroyed our backup radio system and siren warning system last week,” confirmed George Gordon, public information officer for the Alpharetta Public Safety Department. “It will take a few weeks to repair, which
DON’T LET YOUR CHILD’S LEARNING STOP JUST BECAUSE SUMMER STARTS.
will occur as soon as possible. We had a backup plan in case siren alerts were needed due to a warning being issued.” Damage in Alpharetta was confined mainly to downed trees and power lines, and
there were no reports of injuries. Drinkard said city officials staffed the command, control and communications center for
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