Standing Rock begins tornado cleanup

Published 4:04 pm Friday, January 13, 2023

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Volunteers from all over Alabama came to help out the residents of Standing Rock, who were affected by a tornado on Thursday.

People met up at the Standing Rock United Methodist Church to provide warmth and food to any resident who needed help.

Danielle Smith came from Wadley to help out.

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“My friend Benji brought me down here,” Smith said.

Benji Johnson is the assistant fire chief of Standing Rock, and he gave his assessment of the damage.

“It’s really bad in certain spots,” Johnson said.

“Downtown wasn’t hit, but the outer areas like Evansville, it’s like a bomb went off. We don’t have any fatalities. We have one house that was destroyed. We have a few rooftops missing on some. Other than that, we’re lucky. Thank God. It’s just a bad situation. We’re really blessed.”

Johnson gave an update on what their goal is for Friday.

“We’re just cleaning up,” Johnson said.

“We’re trying to get power to the houses on 284. I think all the power has been restored on the west side of town. I have crews from LaFayette and Wedowee. It’s just friends and neighbors coming together to try and get it restored back and cleaned up.”

Standing Rock has already enlisted the help of the Red Cross.

“I got with 911, and they’re down there delivering lunch to them,” Johnson said.

“I hope they help. We need some help.”