Atlanta after the tornado, day 3

I wandered all over downtown Atlanta late this afternoon, going as far as I could on foot without crossing an interstate or venturing beyond the yellow tape. Almost all of the roads have been cleared of trees and debris since last Friday's tornadoes, although there are plenty of streets still blocked due to danger of glass falling from high-rise buildings. there's also plenty of glass available for crunching underfoot.

The main clue that conference attenders such as myself, might have that something untoward happened in this town is the nearly-absent traffic. You can walk across Peachtree Street (any Peachtree Street, take your pick) without waiting forever at crosswalks. There's really no traffic noise outside my hotel, where I'm sitting with the windows open (10th floor --it's safe.) There are fewer marks for the panhandlers, so they are being a bit more aggressive.

Other than that, this end of town looks normal. Walk a few blocks south and west, and there are cranes, barricades, piles of rubble, lots of plywood in windows, and people working very hard to restore the city. It's quite obvious that they have worked all weekend. Seems like a pretty resilient city.

Picks below from Centennial Park, the CNN center & environs, Westin Hotel, etc. Opting not to deal with the vehicle restrictions, I didn't venture to Cabbagetown, or any farther (further?) out.


Windows at the Westin
(view large to see cool repeating pattern in reflections, plus curtains)


Goergia Pacific makes, sells, and now uses plywood.


Outside the Georgia World Congress Conter


Plywood at the CNN Center


Olympic Torch sculpture in Centennial Park


Ticket or concession stand next to another torch, Centennial Park


Trash in Centennial Park




On Centennial Park Drive, demolition starting






Debris pile. CNN center at far right.




To be fair, I think he looked like this before the storm.

I'll link to the whole set once the upload is finished. Thanks to Brother Mattheus for the call of concern Saturday AM.

Update: Here they are.