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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
A portion of Sades Creek Parkway at the U.S. 280 East junction is closed in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, as Alabama Power works to clear downed trees and power lines and restore power to portions of the area following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Alabama Power crews work to clean up trees and downed power lines on Saulter Road in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Workers survey damage to windows of the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association’s offices and headquarters in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo courtesy of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association
The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association's new headquarters at 210 Wildwood Parkway in Homewood, Alabama, was struck by a tornado in the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 — just 2 1/2 weeks after opening.
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Photo courtesy of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association
The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association's new headquarters at 210 Wildwood Parkway in Homewood, Alabama, was struck by a tornado in the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 — just 2 1/2 weeks after opening.
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Photo courtesy of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association
The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association's new headquarters at 210 Wildwood Parkway in Homewood, Alabama, was struck by a tornado in the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 — just 2 1/2 weeks after opening.
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Photo courtesy of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association
The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association's new headquarters at 210 Wildwood Parkway in Homewood, Alabama, was struck by a tornado in the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 — just 2 1/2 weeks after opening.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Damage to the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association’s offices and headquarters in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo courtesy of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association
The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association's new headquarters at 210 Wildwood Parkway in Homewood, Alabama, was struck by a tornado in the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 — just 2 1/2 weeks after opening.
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Photo courtesy of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association
The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association's new headquarters at 210 Wildwood Parkway in Homewood, Alabama, was struck by a tornado in the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 — just 2 1/2 weeks after opening.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Split trees and downed power lines along Broadway Street in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Damage to the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association’s offices and headquarters in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Damage to the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association’s offices and headquarters in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Damage to the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association’s offices and headquarters in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Work is done on the Drury Inn in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
A portion of Sades Creek Parkway at the U.S. 280 East junction is closed in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, as Alabama Power works to clear downed trees and power lines and restore power to portions of the area following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
City workers clear downed trees along the U.S. 280 East junction of Shades Creek Parkway in Homewood on Monday, Dec. 11, following two EF1 tornadoes that moved through the area late Saturday night. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills spent Monday recovering from two tornadoes and straight-line winds that blew through the area early Sunday morning.
Public works and Alabama Power crews have been working steadily to restore power to thousands of people who lost it due to the storms.
The worst damage appeared to be in Homewood, where the National Weather Service said an EF1 tornado with 100+ mph winds touched down in the Wildwood area north of Lakeshore Drive and continued on the ground until reaching Samford University.
The Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association’s new headquarters on Wildwood Parkway took a direct hit from the tornado. Founder and CEO Scott Dawson estimated more than 80 windows were blown out of the 203,511-square-foot building, which the SDEA just moved into 2½ weeks before.
“It’s like a rocket went through the fifth floor,” Dawson said.
In addition to window damage, there also was damage to siding on the building and water damage inside, but the primary interior areas hit by the tornado were areas that had not yet been renovated, Dawson said.
Dawson and his team have been working steadily with local officials, companies and vendors to implement a recovery plan.
“It was impressive to see 17 ServPro trucks entering our campus by 1 p.m.,” Dawson said. “By sunset, we had already conducted meetings with our insurance company and a remediation company, and I had spoken to other pastors and nonprofit leaders who had walked through similar situations. We are so thankful that we planned for the unimaginable. We have a great insurance company and are confident that we will come out of this stronger and more effective. The campus is secured and will be completely waterproofed by the end of the week through ServPro.”
There also was significant damage at the Omega Tires store on Green Springs Highway and many homes and vehicles in the Saulter Road area, mostly apparently from fallen trees, Homewood police Sgt. John Carr said. One Homewood police Tahoe was damaged by a falling tree on Saulter Road while responding to a call, he said. There also was some damage in the West Homewood area, but there were no reports of injuries to people, Carr said.
A second EF1 tornado with 90+ mph winds appeared to drop around Brookwood Village and go through parts of Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills, ending in Cahaba Heights, the National Weather Service said.
Megan Thomas, the Mountain Brook Police Department’s community relations officer, said there were more than 60 reports of trees blocking roadways in the city at one point. The downed trees were reported mostly in the southern half of the city, including areas such as Old Leeds Road, Montevallo Road, North Woodridge Road and Locksley Drive, Thomas said. At least a couple of homes and a car in the part of Cahaba Heights in Mountain Brook were damaged by falling trees as well, she said.
As of Monday afternoon, public works and Alabama Power crews had most roads reopened, but some roads were still blocked, such as Shades Creek Parkway near U.S. 280 and Saulter Road in Homewood.
Vestavia Hills police Chief Shane Ware said his city had a lot of trees and power lines down across roads and on vehicles and a handful of houses. But he, too, was thankful there were no reports of any injuries.
Dawson said his organization’s staff will be working in temporary offices until a structural engineer surveys their building later this week. There will be unbudgeted out-of-pocket expenses that will be inconvenient, but Dawson said he is thankful to have so many faithful supporters of the ministry.
He first and foremost views this as a spiritual issue because of the way God has been working through the organization, he said. The ministry has seen more people come to know Christ this year than any year since it was founded 36 years ago and trained more students in evangelism and registered more students for its upcoming winter conferences than ever before, he said. More than 15,000 students are scheduled to be at the Strength to Stand conferences in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in December and January.
“Satan is not happy,” Dawson said. “I am asking you to pray with us to stay focused on the gospel during this distraction. We will continue to operate and go forward reaching this generation for Christ!”
Editor's note: This article was updated at 1:10 p.m. on Dec. 12 to reflect that at least a couple of homes and a car in the part of Cahaba Heights in Mountain Brook were damaged by falling trees.
