The 17 employees of the $33 million DCH Credit Union of Tuscaloosa, Ala. will not soon forget the 10 minutes they spent huddled in two bathrooms of their building April 27 as 150 mph tornadic winds shook the structure, shattering windows and scattering debris.
"We saw the tornado coming across the street and we quickly split up into two groups," recalled Brandy Boyd, an accounts representative. "We were all in shock after the tornado passed as we saw the devastation, a whole home subdivision destroyed behind the credit union and nearby businesses ripped apart. And every one of us had our vehicles damaged."
DCH, located just blocks from its Druid City Hospital sponsor, is now operating without normal phone service and still on emergency generator power. It reopened Monday with the help of the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, which brought up staffers from its Birmingham and Tallahassee, Fla., offices to restore operations.
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