TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Thousands of volunteers flooded the hard-hit home of the University of Alabama with chain saws, wrecking bars and food Saturday, offering help and hugs to tornado victims and causing traffic tie-ups reminiscent of a fall football weekend.
A long line of vehicles piled into a volunteer registration center where officials waived plans to make workers register because they couldn’t keep up with the large number of people showing up to work.
Groups have had time since the storms struck April 27 to organize trips, and the turnout appeared far heavier than the first weekend after the twisters.
Christian organizations, including the Salvation Army and Samaritan’s Purse, set up operations to coordinate volunteers, along with numerous churches, but many people simply drove through hard-hit neighborhoods and got out where they saw a need.
Many volunteers wore Crimson Tide football gear, but Debra Wilson came more than 80 miles to help in an orange T-shirt, celebrating the national championship won by ‘Bama archrival Auburn University.
Wilson said team allegiances don’t matter at a time like this.
“I live in Alabama,” said Wilson, of Dixon’s Mills. “We just saw the destruction and felt the need, and we wanted to be here to help.”
Sylvia Hannah watched as a group of strangers cut up hardwood trees that fell during the twister, crisscrossing her yard and knocking a hole in her roof. Hannah was overwhelmed by the aid, hugging sweaty men covered with sawdust.
“It’s been a godsend,” she said, wiping away tears.
