The National Weather Service says more than a dozen tornadoes touched down in Alabama during the storms that hit the state Monday and Tuesday. Meteorologists have released storm damage surveys that show where twisters made landfall and how strong they were. Tornado damage is reported in Etowah, Jefferson, Lamar, Limestone, Macon, Marion, Pickens and Russell counties. Survey teams from the weather service are still evaluating other areas. In all, 38 Alabama counties sustained some type of storm damage this week. Art Faulkner, Director of the State Emergency Management Agency, is asking citizens to stay away from storm-damaged communities. Also, the state Health Department is urging residents in flooded areas to test their water wells before consuming water from them.
Thousands Enroll
The Department of Health and Human Services reports that close to 98,000 people in Alabama selected a plan in the federally operated health insurance marketplace. The report released Thursday says about 58 percent were women. The biggest age group was those 18 to 34, who made up 31 percent of the people who selected a plan.
Shirley Comments
The embattled superintendent of Selma City Schools says he's being made a scapegoat. Gerald Shirley tells the Advertiser newspaper that he's been unfairly blamed for problems in the troubled school system. A State Intervention team has recommended that Shirley and two other top administrators be fired. Shirley also told the newspaper that he intends to fight for his job.