Being Amber Rhea

Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts before the tornado:
(taken April 17, 2005, by me)

After the tornado:
(taken March 18, 2008, by Flickr user elemess)

Many more post-tornado photos are available on Flickr. (Find photos specifically of the Cotton Mill Lofts here.) And I do mean many. It’s probably into the thousands at this point.

• Birdcage: clean. Birds: a little freaked out. Now, in cleaning mode, going thru boxes & trying to get rid of as much crap as possible. #
• Thunder outside. I’m still in cleaning mode and moving toward "total minimalist" mode. #
• Cleaned the pole w/ Brasso. It’s shiny now. #
• @extraface - WTF?? #
• Um ok so for all of you that don’t follow @extraface, a tornado just hit the Flatiron in East Atl. They’re fine, but godDAMN that’s scary. #
• Apparently the tornado ripped a hole in the roof of the Georgia Dome! @rustytanton PLEASE be careful driving home tonight!! #
• So apparently CNN is reporting about a tornado that hit is own building #
• A lot of downtown ATL is f’ed up; tornado must have just barely missed us in Decatur (fortunately!) #
• Watching coverage on WSB… 10k ppl in ATL w/o power… damage to CNN center, Phillips Arena, GA Dome, Capitol… #
• Feeling increasingly lucky that the tornado missed Decatur. Flooding at Georgia Dome from burst pipes. #
• Dude on WSB compared damage to downtown to Centennial Park bombing… hmm #
• Tabernacle has only minor damage despite major damage around it. They built that thing to stay! #
• WSB reporter changes subject when other reporter brings up homeless ppl. I need to go to bed now. #
• Awake and drinking a chai that Rusty so kindly went to get. Thinking of getting back in bed for another hour. Cardio pole @ 11:30. #
• @jbrotherlove: @davewiner asked "where are the black folks?" What a dumbass. Didn’t he also ask "Where are the women bloggers?" ~3 yrs ago? #
• Take a look at @SpaceyG’s iReport of tornado aftermath: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-3761 #
• About to take a shower… I’m going to try to go to Cardio Pole at 11:30, I wonder if roads will be closed in midtown? #
• Severe damage in cabbagetown. Don’t know about fatalities. #
• @Reginalynn out now, will email later #
• Leaving cardio pole; apparently another big storm is heading toward atlanta from alabama? #
• in dunwoody for dr. appt., calm here so far. 2 tornadoes in cartersville. fatalities in polk cty. according to @spaceyg #
• Dammit, tornado siren is going off here in Decatur #
• Canceled podcast interview I was supposed to do at 5:00. Might be headed down to the parking deck soon. WSB showing tornado on TV. #
• Hail… tornado on the ground, headed toward East Atl. Showing it on WSB. #
• We huddled in the parking garage stairwell w/ neighbors. Back upstairs now, sirens not going off anymore. It passed us, for now. #
• @furrygirl I’m sure it’s already happened, somewhere. Apparently homeless ppl were "preaching the gospel" downtown last night. #
• I’m ready for this weather to be over so I can get back to bitching about things like paying $300 for a psychiatrist appt. today. #
• WSB reports 37k ppl in Georgia without power #
• Email from Mom asking how my work bldg made it thru this. AFAIK midtown is fine. I was there ~10:30am. #
• And now it’s sunny outside. Crazy weather. Stepping away from computer to have a snack. Who all is at Moe’s & Joe’s? #
• I think it’s nap time #
• Awake after a much-needed nap. About to go to dinner at Figo. #
• @SpaceyG - AJC’s name did come up: @sarawara & @nikkistrick talking about how their web site was broken. #

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From CNN:

At least 20 homes in Atlanta’s historic Cabbagetown neighborhood were flattened by a tornado that ripped through downtown Atlanta on Friday night, a spokeswoman for the mayor said.

Firefighters fear there could be people dead inside the ruins of a collapsed loft complex in the same neighborhood, the spokeswoman said.

There have been no deaths confirmed from the tornado, but at least 15 people were treated at two hospitals. Most of the injuries were minor cuts, scrapes and bruises, officials said.

The Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts, just east of downtown Atlanta, collapsed in a “pancake fashion,” Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran said early Saturday.

The tornado that ripped through the heart of the city damaged the roof of the Georgia Dome during a college basketball game, shattered windows and ripped roofs from buildings before continuing into several residential neighborhoods.

The building that houses CNN was at the epicenter of the storm — sitting next to the dome and hotels where thousands of basketball fans attending the Southeastern Conference tournament were at least temporarily displaced.

Photo from Flickr user photognome:

From our friend Currer Bell, who was at work downtown at the time:

Just as I was settling into my overnight shift at work last night, a tornado ripped through downtown Atlanta right in front of my building. The windows up here on the 24th floor were bowing from the suction on the outside. It was a pretty scary there for about five minutes. Naturally, my curiosity lead me downstairs and out into the street. Chunks of buildings, insulation, power lines and tons of shattered glass were lying in the road. The ground crunched underneath my feet as I made my way across the glass-strewn street toward the CNN Center, which is one block from my office. Big pieces of metal siding hung precariously out of trees, the ones that made it through the wind. Other not-so-lucky trees lay on top of parked cars and in the road.

Btw, thanks to everyone who has been sending emails asking if we’re okay. The tornado missed Decatur completely; I feel very fortunate right now. I’ve been following people’s coverage via Twitter, and watching footage on WSB. Dave was at the Flatiron in East Atlanta when the tornado came through. It ripped a hole in the roof of the Georgia Dome… there’s damage to some hotels, CNN Center, other downtown buildings… so far, no news of fatalities though.