Emily Patterson, who works in the circulation department in Collier Library at UNA, felt terrorized by the devastating April 27 tornado that wreaked havoc on the home she shared with her family in Phil Campbell.

Though tornado sirens had been going off since early morning and her children were sent home from school, Patterson said her family was not the type to jump into a storm shelter every time there was a threat of severe weather.

After Patterson’s brother-in-law, Joel, heard an unusual noise and walked outside to check it out, he quickly began shouting for everyone to seek shelter as the tornado was coming their way. Patterson described the sound like a loud roar as her home was thrown 10 feet by the cyclone.

“The look of terror on Joel’s face had us all moving quickly to our small bathroom,” she said. “The five of us plus Joel’s big dog were crammed into that little bathroom holding on and praying. No sooner had [my husband] gotten the bathroom door shut that it hit.”

Patterson, like hundreds of Alabamians across the state who were impacted by the storms, is now sifting through debris and salvaging her family’s belongings that lay amid the rubble of her former home.

David Shields, vice president of student affairs, reported that 42 UNA students have been affected by the April 27 storms, with one who lost a parent, several who lost homes and many who have gone without electricity for an extended period of time.

“We want to get a sense of what students were affected,” he said. “[Helping students] is the right thing for the university to do.”

Since the storms, numerous UNA students, faculty and staff have united to help tornado victims in Phil Campbell, Hackleburg, Tuscaloosa, Madison and across the state.

Students Forrest Harlan and Summer Akers traveled to Phil Campbell shortly after the storms to assist with relief efforts.

Harlan and Akers helped to fix livestock fences, clean up debris and donate clothing in one of the most heavily damaged areas in Alabama. Harlan hopes more students will see the long-term effects of the disaster and continue to volunteer in the future.

“People see a disaster like this, and they help out for a month and then forget about it,” Harlan said. “They don’t realize that some of these people still won’t have houses a year from now.”

UNA recently launched the Caring for the Pride fundraising campaign, which is designed to assist current/future students, faculty and staff who have been impacted by the storms.

The university is offering financial resources to those affected so their college education is not interrupted.

“We are hoping to raise as much as we can to help individuals who may not be starting college or returning this fall because their parents lost their jobs in the storms and or they have to go to work themselves,” said Josh Woods, UNA spokesman. “They have lost so much already and we don’t want their college education lost because of what happened.”

Gov. Robert Bentley, who visited UNA last fall during the gubernatorial debate with Ron Sparks, toured the storm damage and destruction in Dekalb County May 1 and remarked on the state citizens’ ability to cope with the disaster.

“The people of Alabama love each other and we take care of each other,” he said. “We’re going to get through it, and we’re going to do it together.”

For tornado assistance at UNA, contact the Office of Student Affairs at 256-765-4248. To donate to the Caring for the Pride campaign, visit www.una.edu/disaster-relief.

Visit www.florala.net to view photo albums and videos taken after the storm.

News Editor Josh Skaggs, Copy Editor Alex Lindley and Ad Manager Devin Kennamer contributed to this report.