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CULLMAN, Alabama — When Cullman resident Randall Butts heard on TV that a tornado was heading his way on April 27, 2011, “I got my dog and got in my chair and started praying.”

The tornado hit Butts’ section of 10th Avenue SE, just off of U.S. 278. While the houses on either side of his home and the houses across the street sustained major damage, Butts’ home was mostly spared. A tree limb struck the back corner of his house and the front porch shifted a few inches, but he is still able to live in his home.

Just around the corner, East Side Baptist Church took major damage as well. [See the photo gallery] Brick walls on all sides of the church have crumbled, and the fellowship hall has caved in. The back wall of the church was knocked over, yet plastic toys in the nursery and glass vases and acolyte robes in the sacristy remain untouched, visible from the road through the twisted beams and mangled sheet metal hanging down.

The tornado that struck Cullman is rated an EF-4 after preliminary inspection of the damage, with estimated winds peaking at 175 mph. Cullman mayor Max Townson called the tornado, “one of the worst disasters that we’ve ever had in the history of our community.”

“We’ve been in the cleanup process. We have had tremendous amount of support from local churches. We’ve had the National Guard in here. We’ve had state troopers. Our sheriff’s department, our city police department have done a fantastic job. We’ve had linemen in from Oklahoma, Kentucky, south Alabama, replacing power poles, and 95 percent of the power is back on. We were without electricity in the community for probably about four days,” Townson said. “We appreciate everything that everyone has been doing in this community.”

Cullman resident describes tornado striking neighborhood Randall Butts, who lives on 10th Avenue SE in Cullman, describes his experience when the April 27, 2011 EF-4 tornado passed through his neighborhood. While Butts’ home was mostly spared, houses on either side of his and across the street were destroyed. Watch video

Townson added a word of thanks to the community as well. “I would like to thank all of our people, especially the volunteers. They have been tremendous. Saturday, we had 1,200 volunteers to come in here and help remove debris. We can’t thank them enough.”

When the tornado passed his house, Butts heard what sounded like a train when the tornado passed by. “Fortunately, it pretty much skipped over us,” Butts added. “The sound was just like static electricity. It was a strange feeling. I don’t want to live through another one.

“The good Lord was looking after us.”

Cullman mayor talks about recovery efforts following the April 27 tornado Cullman Mayor Max Townson talks about the tornado that struck his city on April 27, 2011 and the support his community has received as cleanup and rebuilding efforts begin Watch video

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