[dangerousdave]

An update today (March 19) from AJC, ACVB, WSB TV and myself.

• The Georgia World Congress Center, one of the building's hardest hit by Friday's tornado, will get back to business next week. This announcement reflects the tremendous progress that has been made throughout Atlanta over the past five days since a series of severe storms struck the city on Friday evening. The meetings will be held in Building C, the least damaged of the three buildings that make up the almost 4 million-square-foot convention center, said Mark Zimmerman, the GWCC's general manager. Getting the GWCC in shape to accommodate the two conventions also helped hospitality leaders boast that no big shows have been lost because of the storm.
  
  
• Home Depot is announcing today that it is giving a $250,000 grant to the Vine City Health and Housing Ministry to help the intown community recover from the tornado that hit last Friday evening.
  
  
• The Westin Peachtree Plaza
  The tornado that left rubble scattered across downtown Atlanta and other neighborhoods was so powerful it caused the hotel, one of the world's tallest, to sway up to two feet, according to the structural engineer who helped design the building. Winds that night were estimated at 130 mph. "The building could easily take that kind of force and was designed to do just that. About 175 windows shattered and will be covered with plywood until the glass can be repaired. This could take up to 4-8 weeks as the glass for most downtown buildings has to be specially made and there is of course a big demand.
  
  
• One of the stories that has really touched people is that of a puppy lost and found in the Atlanta tornado wreckage. Three-month-old Jackson got stuck inside the damaged Cotton Mill Condos in Cabbagetown after Friday's storm. His owner's are overjoyed to have him back after a firefighter made one last sweep and spotted the puppy underneath a couch.
  
  
• Atlanta city officials are still encouraging people to stay away from downtown Atlanta if at all possible because of falling glass.
  
  
• Rain water fell into CNN Center on Wednesday through the storm damaged roof. However, the building remained open and people simply walked around the tarps on the floor.
  
  
• Thanks very much to these organizations who provided assistance to the people of Atlanta. The Salvation Army provided meals to the people in need, the police & firefighters. The Red Cross provided shelters for those people who found their home unlivable or destroyed.
  
  
• IMHO, the Atlanta Police & Firefighters did a fantastic job in protecting people, directing traffic, keeping people out of harms way and keeping everybody as calm as possible.
  
  
• The city did remarkably well, but it was nothing short of a miracle that nobody was killed and more people weren’t seriously injured. There were more than 15,000 people in the GA Dome when the tornado passed within 100 yards of the building.
  
  Dave