Re: BREAKING NEWS!!! Wind storm damages Georgia Dome, Game Upates Inside!!!
'War zone' after winds hit downtown Atlanta, Georgia Dome
Storm may be 'nothing' compared to what's coming Saturday, says meteorologist
By
BILL SANDERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/14/08 When the storms hit Atlanta Friday night at its busiest basketball time, they hit hard, leaving the Centennial Olympic Park area looking like what one witness described as a "war zone."
There were injuries, including many abrasions from flying glass, but by midnight it appeared most were not critical.
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Ben Gray/AJC
</td></tr><tr><td class="caption">Basketball fans survey the damage in the Georgia Dome roof.
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Ben Gray/AJC
</td></tr><tr><td class="caption">A hole shows in the roof of the Georgia Dome.
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><!--startclickprintinclude--><!--begintext--> The storm that made a direct hit on downtown Atlanta was reported widely as a "possible tornado," based on damage reports, radar sightings and the because "some people thought they may have heard a freight train sound" as it passed, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Leary.
Thunderstorms were expected to have passed out of the metro Atlanta area by 2 a.m., but even heavier weather was expected Saturday afternoon and evening.
The storms that hit Atlanta on Friday could be "nothing to compare with what's coming in tomorrow," Leary said.
The worst of the damage and injuries centered on the Georgia Dome, CNN Center and Omni Hotel, but the downtown area was only part of the terrifying story.
For a while Friday night, with one suspected tornado passed and more bad weather on the way, thousands of basketball fans were essentially stuck with no option other than to ride out the storm and hope for the best.
Thousands of basketball fans, some in the Georgia Dome, some roaming the streets, were caught in what WSB-TV called a tornado.
At about 9:40 p.m., high winds hit the Georgia Dome, ripping off sections of the arena where the SEC men's basketball tournament was underway. Neighboring hotels and office buildings had windows blown out.
Initial reports were that there were only a few minor injures. But in the midst of a chaotic scene, no one could say for sure, as ambulances were seen going up and down the streets.
Grady EMS rushed seven patients to Grady Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, said hospital spokeswoman Denise Simpson. She said an eighth person was taken to Atlanta medical condition in critical condition.
Simpson said Grady suffered several broken windows, but no major structural damage.
The storm delayed the end of the quarterfinal game between Alabama and Mississippi State. Mississippi State eventually won the game 69-67 in overtime.
The Georgia-Kentucky game was postponed and rescheduled for Saturday.
Basketball fans inside the Dome reported feeling strong winds, hearing a train sound and seeing the large monitor over the court and some scaffolding swaying around 9:40 p.m. Then debris began falling from the roof inside the Dome as fans left their seats and huddled in the concourse looking for safety.
Curtains that drape the sides of the Dome blew open, and fans said they could see lightning outside the building when the curtains blew open.
Outside the Dome, a vacant eight- or nine-story building near Centennial Olympic Park collapsed during the storm, but that no injuries were reported, said Ron Campbell, Atlanta Police Department's spokesman.
Most of the windows of the Omni Hotel facing Marietta Street were blown out, and "numerous people have injuries," Campbell said. None of the injuries appeared serious, Campbell said.
Cabbagetown reported extensive damage to homes there. While no official reports of damage were available, residents of Cabbagetown reported numerous trees down and said power was out to the area.
At The Stacks Loft apartment complex at Boulevard and Memorial Boulevard, resident Kevin Goolsby said he was on the top floor of one of buildings that lost part of its roof.
"It sounded like it was a big roar for about 15 seconds. The building started shaking, and all you could hear was your ears popping."
About 10,000 customers were out of power around midnight, said Georgia Power spokeswoman Konswello Monroe said. She said Georgia Power has called in extra crews from surrounding counties to make repairs.
Everywhere around the storm scene, there was chaos. Windows were blown out of parked cars, trees were down and huge steel billboards were twisted on top of parked cars. The words "war zone" were used over and over to describe what the Centennial Park area looked like.
Raymond Sheffield, 34, of Dallas, Texas, said he was in town for a dental convention and was eating at Ted's Montana Grill on Spring Street downtown. About the time desserts came, debris slammed into the glass front of the restaurant-- pieces of trees and bits of buildings doing the damage.
"I would say more than half of the windows are gone" from the front of the restaurant, Sheffield said. "What's left is basically hanging on and ready to fall."
John Hisey, 49, of Marietta, was in Phillips Arena at the Hawks game.
"I heard a noise - it sounded like a big rumble. I looked up, and the wall was just flexing." He said people in some of the mid-level seating areas got up and started running for the exits. "They just took off. They knew something. I didn't know what was going on at the time. I thought it was an earthquake. It was just amazing, though."
Hisey went outside. "When I got out, I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. There's all kinds of debris, insulation, there's all kinds of windows broken out."
Joselyn Baker, spokeswoman for MARTA said around 11 p.m.: "The last report I got was, we were still able to deliver service, but we're experiencing delays (on the rail lines) due to the weather."
Georgia Athletics Director Damon Evans was hopeful for the best, even after the storm.
"It was strange. My initial thought was the Kentucky people were stomping their feet above us," Evans said. "I've never been through anything like that before. Hopefully, we'll get the game in tonight. I trust the people at the Dome."
The people at the dome said no way.
""I didn't have any problem with (going back out to play)," Alabama coach Mike Gottfried said. "Once the engineers, or whomever makes those decisions, determine it's safe, you trust that they are making the right ones."
This story was reported by Chip Towers, Mike Knobler, Tim Eberly, Chandler Brown, Anisha Frizzell, Ben Smith, Andy Miller and Celine Bufkin
'War zone' after winds hit downtown Atlanta, Georgia Dome | ajc.com
