DECATUR, Ala. (WAFF) – “I heard the wind change and I knew it must be the tornado.” Erin Papst’s instincts were right. She and her daughter were stuck inside her mobile home when an EF-1 tornado tore through Jay Landings Thursday morning.
It was enough to turn much of the marina and RV Park in Decatur into a metal wasteland.
“When I looked out the camper that was parked next to my motor home was gone,” she said. “I looked out the other window and the camper on the other side of me was also gone.”
Erin’s camper and truck were damaged by the high winds, but she feels she and her family are incredibly lucky to come away from this scary ordeal uninjured.
She tells me her neighbors also escaped without injuries.
“My neighbors that were in the campers next to me, they had made it up to the bathroom house so they’re alive which is amazing because their campers are… gone.”
Jay Landings is located off of Highway 20, where the majority of Thursday’s damage happened. High wind threw two 18-wheelers on their sides and ripped power lines to the ground.
Emergency workers shutdown the highway for most of the day to clean up the damage blocking the entrance to Jay Landings and the road.
For people like Matt Head — whose boat is totaled — he tells me losing property means very little in the grand scheme of everything that happened.
“I’m just lucky that it’s jus a boat, you know? I’m not living out here. Other people could’ve suffered far worse than I did. People are living out here full time. Could have easily flipped over with somebody inside one of the RVs. It’s just a boat for me.”
For Erin, she’s grateful her family made it safely through the storm.
“We’re just lucky that we’re here.”
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