ABSTRACT
Tuscaloosa, AL, experienced an EF4 tornado with winds estimated at 190 mph . The total tornado path extended 80 miles with a width of 1 .5 miles at one point . The public service sector would be heavily damaged, including destruction of the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Operations Center (EOC; NWS 2011b) . An EOC serves as the place where emergency managers, first responders, elected officials, and key partners monitor events and organize disaster response and recovery efforts . The tornado took straight aim at the building, lifting police cars into the air and collapsing the building around those inside . Survivors escaped out of makeshift exits and then helped others get past debris-blocked doors (Taylor 2011) .
