As tornados hit, survivors hid in tubs, shipping containers

By SHARON JOHNSON and BUTCH DILL
Associated Press

MARBURY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama mechanic took refuge in a shipping container as a tornado from a violent storm decimated his shop and killed two of his neighbors along its destructive path across Alabama and Georgia. The harrowing stories of the mechanic and other survivors of Thursday’s storm are emerging as residents comb through the wreckage wrought by tornados and blistering winds that have killed at least nine people. Residents have described chaotic scenes unfolding as the storm spun toward them, with people rushing into shelters, bathtubs and sheds as the winds bore down. The storm brought powerful twisters and winds to Alabama and Georgia that uprooted trees, sent mobile homes airborne, derailed a freight train and left thousands without electricity.