(McIntosh, Ala.) Jan. 12 - Scary moments this weekend for some folks along the Gulf Coast as severe weather rolled through. A tornado touched down in McIntosh damaging homes, and littering streets. As NBC 15's Andrea Ramey reports, homeowners continue the cleanup.
This weekend's tornado mangled a trampoline and twisted it around a tree in Shirley Williams' front yard. Although its in her yard, she couldn't tell you where it came from.
"We've got trees down. We've got broken windows. Our cars are all smashed in," said Williams.
Today, Williams is cleaning up the debris the storm blew in her yard. Saturday night, she was taking cover in a bathtub with her family.
"I just saw stuff spinning in the sky and I said oh, it's a tornado. Get to the hall bathroom," said Williams.
Down the street, the tornado ripped part of Elmer Sullivan's home off. Elmer says just before it hit, the sky got very dark. He says there wasn't much time to react.
"I just jumped up out my recliner into the closet. And I think that's what saved me," said Sullivan.
His wife, who was in their bedroom, jumped in a closet as well, as parts of the ceiling and insulation started to fall all around her.
"Glass was flying all over the place," said Sullivan.
Sullivan and Williams both say they're just glad to be here today cleaning up after the storm, glad no one in their neighborhood was hurt.
The Ciba plant was also damaged by the storm. Crews were on scene assessing the damage and clearing debris.
"It was amazing how fast everything escalated," said Wayne Miller.
Miller says he got to work minutes before the storm hit. He says the windows started busting out and all the doors flew open, allowing gusts of wind to blow through the building.
"A lot of the ceiling tiles were falling down on us, the insulation. There was so much noise and the intensity was such you couldn't grasp at that moment what was going on above you. You just knew it was bad," said Miller.
Miller says he and the other employees darted under desks and tables to protect themselves.
"The duration was extremely short. The intensity was incredible," said Miller.
"Of course, all the offices up stairs have been destroyed. And a lot of damage even from that coming into the downstairs," said Ciba Emergency Response Charlie Moye.
A much better outcome considering the tornado could have damaged the production side of the plant. Ciba manufactures preservatives that go into plastic products.
If a tornado had touched down on the production side - it could have caused dangerous leaks.
"We have a lot of different chemicals here. Ammonia is one of them. Certainly, if it got loose, you could have those clouds go through the air during the storm," said Moye.
Company officials are just thankful no leaks occurred. However, the tornado caused millions of dollars in damage. Recovery is expected to take months.
