Atlanta tornado discussion

[dangerousdave]

These are preliminary reports only. Local Atlanta news reports that The GA Dome roof has held up and not torn to allow water inside. After stopping play, the SEC Basketball tournament continued but the last game has been postponed. On TV we now see water pouring down the stairs in the GA World Congress Center Building C (next months pit location) after a water main break. The dome roof catwalks were noticeably swaying around 10PM EDT. Some walls on the outside of the Dome are slightly damaged. The walkway between the old Omni Hotel and the newer one is damaged on the bottom. The Peachtree Plaza hotel has some windows blown out on the backside of it.

About 8 people taken to Grady Hospital, with one reported in critical condition.

Atlanta TV links to perhaps get updated info: WSB, WXIA, Fox 5, WGNX
Dave

[Nawaid Ladak]

Originally Posted by dangerousdave

These are preliminary reports only. Local Atlanta news reports that The GA Dome roof has held up and not torn to allow water inside. The SEC Basketball tournament is continuing in the Dome after the catwalks were noticeably swaying. Some portions of the outside of the Dome are slightly damaged. The walkway between the old Omni Hotel and the newer one is damaged on the bottom. The Peachtree Plaza hotel has some windows blown out on the backside of it. There are also some reports of damage to the World Congress Center which is where the "pits" are located. However, they are on the very bottom of the buildings which are about 3 story's high, where damage is less likely.

Again, these are preliminary reports. So far the pictures we can see at night do not show damage in my opinion to keep future events from being held. This of course could change as reports come in and daylight shines on the buildings.
Dave

the SEC Basketball broadcast showed damage outside the GA dome, and reported flooding in the GWCC.

[ALIBI]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

This show a picture of damage to the main concourse. It sounds like everyone inside is OK.

[santosh]

On a side note, nobody at the peachtree regional has been harmed and the weather is fineish here.
Some reports have said that there are a lot of windows that have been blown out at the omni.

[feliks_rosenber]

with one reported in critical condition.

Not the best of news...

[Chrisms]

does anyone have an accurate report? We heard so many stories in the pits today... you know, the game of telephone. Any locals who can personally attest to how bad the damage is?

these are the best photos i've found: http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view...windstorm0314/

[Coredesat]

From what I have seen from the Storm Prediction Center and the National Weather Service, an EF-2 tornado with maximum winds of 130 mph struck downtown Atlanta on Friday night. Saturday saw more severe weather with reports of baseball-sized hail in various areas. Damage estimates are $150-200 million; including damage to the Georgia Dome, Georgia World Congress Center, CNN Center, Philips Arena, and various hotels; downtown Atlanta has been declared a state disaster area. Several injuries but thankfully no fatalities in the Atlanta area.

Several people were hurt and one person was killed in tornadoes that spawned from the same storm system, in eastern Georgia and South Carolina.

The basketball games scheduled to be played at the Georgia Dome were moved to Georgia Tech as the Georgia Dome was deemed to be unsafe for the players and fans.

Lengthy report from CNN here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/15/sto...nta/index.html

[Guy Davidson]

We were updated today between some matches (or during one of the ceramonies, I don't remember) that FIRST is in touch with Georgia Dome officials, and they will monitor the situation and keep us updated.

[KTorak]

Here is a response I got from the Westin about the hotel situation:

Last night Downtown was hit by a tornado resulting in some damage to
the downtown convention corridor. The storms were linear and thankfully,
the damaged areas are minimal. However, we are still assessing the
damage surrounding the Georgia World Congress Center campus.

The remaining games of the SEC Championship have been relocated to the
Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Georgia Tech. Tickets sold
to the public are no longer valid and only individuals holding
credentials will be admitted to the games. Several downtown hotels have
set up viewing screens in their lobbies. Many of the fans have returned
home.

The Hinman Dental convention ended today. Most conventions have left or
are on their way home. Exhibitors have not moved out of the Georgia
World Congress Center and are not being allowed to enter the facility.
Hinman will work with the Georgia World Congress Center on timing and
safety for the breakdown of exhibits.

Our hotels experienced little or no damage. The Omni Hotel at CNN Center
is fully operational with the exception of 467 rooms located in the
South Tower, which will reopen in two weeks. The building has been
declared structurally sound and all guest rooms in the North Tower, all
meeting space, the lobby and restaurant are operating. The Westin
Peachtree Plaza experienced damage to less than 15 hotel rooms and is
fully operational.

Attractions were not affected. The Georgia Aquarium, New World of
Coca-Cola and Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta are open for
business. The CNN Center sustained minor damage to the roof, which was
repaired this afternoon. The food court at CNN Center and the Inside CNN
Studio Tour will reopen on Monday.

Georgia World Congress Center Authority officials confirmed storm damage
to all three venues, including the Georgia World Congress Center,
Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Dome. Assessment of the damage
is ongoing and an update will be provided on Monday, March 17. Until
that time, all three venues will be closed to the public.

We are looking at the schedule for shows coming to Atlanta in the
immediate future. Once we receive a structural update from GWCC, we will
address each of these groups on an individual basis. At this time, we do
not have plans to relocate business outside of Atlanta.

We will be certain to communicate with you as we receive additional
information. Please look to hear from us again in the next few days with
additional information. Thank you in advance for your partnership and
work to help us minimize the effects of this storm on our business.

Sincerely,


Spurgeon Richardson
President and CEO
Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

[DRH2o]

Looks like possible good news for FIRST

http://www.gwcc.com/

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by DRH2o

Looks like possible good news for FIRST

http://www.gwcc.com/

Good news indeed, especially if you follow the links. The Propane Gas Assoc is being moved to GWCC-C, and the Window Coverings Expo notes that Building C was least damaged. Even some photos taken yesterday (3/18).

[Madison]

I've combined as many of the threads on this subject as I have power over into this one. I apologize that the merge makes things a bit messy, but please keep all discussion related to these events here.

Thanks.