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An Editorial Opinion of The Demopolis Times

On Saturday night, Marengo County was spare the worst of the weather as much of Alabama and Mississippi was placed in a high risk of severe weather.

Our area went under a tornado warning briefly on Saturday. Thankfully, we didn’t suffer extensive damage like other areas of the state. The storm that prompted our warning eventually caused damage in Perry and Shelby counties.

Just down the road in Dallas County, an EF-3 tornado, what may have been the strongest Alabama tornado of the day, formed near Plantersville and left a 24.25-mile path of destruction before finally dissipating one mile outside of Clanton in Chilton County.

Numerous residents were affected in Plantersville. Unfortunately, two citizens passed away in the storm. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families and to those families who are having to rebuild their lives.

People came out, as Mississippi political cartoonist Marshall Ramsey has depicted in a famous cartoon, with chainsaws and casseroles to help the people of the area. The food may have looked a little different, especially with the help of Valley Grande Mexican Restaurant. This time it was quesadillas, chips and salsa. 

Others have donated sandwiches, water and so much more. One thing that is for sure, you don’t recover from a tornado or any natural disaster like this overnight. It takes months and years to get back, if they are able to build back the same.

We know that our Marengo County residents will do their part to help victims now and along the way. That’s not just the Southern thing to do; it’s the right thing to do.