It's the 5th anniversary of the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak which ripped through Tuscaloosa. Today, we take a look at one photographer's scrapbook.

Over the past few anniversaries that have come and gone, my friend Rick Piel the photographer has kindly offered for me to showcase his work following the storm. Rick sent a link to access the photos. Today, I decided to take a look.

Quickly, a rush of emotion ran through my body as the thought of before, during and after the storm flashed through my head like a bright strobe light.

Before reaching the Alabama state border, April 27, 2011 was already proving to be historic with the number of tornadoes. That trend would not change. In fact, Alabama was about to be blasted, Tuscaloosa was about to ripped in half. I remember the feeling of fear and anxiety as 5:13 hit and a tornado was on the ground in our city. Panic set in, as the twister passed close to the station. We were quickly stripped of outside communication, losing phones, internet and TV. I found myself streaming James Spann on my cell phone to the studio mic, just to keep some kind of information feed up.

I knew it was bad after the storm, then I saw the 35th Street area off I-359. But at the moment, I still didn't really comprehend the true size of destruction. The next day I traveled out to volunteer on Hargrove Road, seeing more reality of the destruction. Later that night, I attended a prayer service at the Hardee's on 15th Street. The stare out to sea of flattened homes was numbing. It was a day or two later when I saw Alberta during volunteer work. Absolutely shocking. Holt followed. This tornado would not let up.

It was all hands on deck to get Tuscaloosa back on her feet, and the response was simple amazing. From donations to volunteer work. The power of love,faith, and determination pushed us forward towards better days.

I find it interesting to see the world through another eye with photographs. After looking through Rick's pics (I had to work in that rhyme), I decided to share some of these photos after all. We get a view of the pure power of the storm along with signs of hope. This includes one of the many celebrities who visits, as Lance Bass of NSYNC was seen handing out supplies.

Those who lived through the April 27 tornado have something in common, we're survivors, strong survivors.

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