Mayor Moussa Mara of Mali visits tornado damage in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
May 1st, 2011.
The Mayor of Commune-4, Bamako, Mali, El Hadj Moussa Mara, visited Tuscaloosa today to offer his condolences to the city and the people of Alabama. Mayor Mara was received by City Councillman Hon. Bobby Howard of District 1 and Tuscaloosa City Clerk Tracy Croom. Councilman Howard facilitated a tour of some of the tornado damaged areas of Tuscaloosa.
Mayor Moussa Mara(C), Tuscaloosa City Clerk Tracy Croom(R), City Councilman Bobby Howard(L)
The Alabama city was devastated by a tornadic storm on April 27th this year uprooting decades-old trees and buildings. Tuscaloosa and neighboring Birmingham suffered more than 100 deaths and some 1,200 students from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa were displaced. Thousands other Tuscaloosans were displaced and are being looked after in shelters. President Obama toured the disaster zone and directed the Federal Emergency Management Association to accompany the city in its recovery and reconstruction efforts. Please see the helicopter tour of the devastation at The GDP-TV.
During Mayor Mara’s visit, FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers could be seen working with cleanup contractors and were fully engaged in damage assessment and rehabilitation. Piles of debris could be seen at curbside of what once was a vibrant residential community by the lake. A building materials warehouse and manufacturing facilities in the path of the storm were totally destroyed. All structures in the path of the half-mile-wide band suffered complete destruction. Nothing was spared. This is the band that also caused substantial damage in North Georgia around Ringold. Tuscaloosa Public Works department lost a good number of its equipment and vehicles, however, the city, aided by the state and FEMA, is quickly cleaning up and assisting displaced residents to recover.
Please visit:
for more on Mayor Mara’s visit at Tuscaloosa City Hall and tour of some of the damaged areas.
The Lighthouse Herald 
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