Brianna Cooper
Jacksonville Alabama Tornado Oral History Collection
On March 19, 2018, an EF-3 tornado devastated the City of Jacksonville, Alabama, and had a significant impact on the campus of Jacksonville State University (JSU). Using an oral history approach, a team of researchers from JSU's Center for Disaster and Community Resilience (CDCR) conducted in-depth interviews with 25 residents of Jacksonville who experienced the EF-3 tornado. Interviews took place in the Houston Cole Library, were conducted in private, and lasted approximately 90 minutes each. An article was published in 2022 based on the tornado oral history project in the Weather, Climate, and Society journal by the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
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National Capital Contracting
On July 16, 2019, Erin Rider interviewed Brianna Cooper for an oral history project at Jacksonville State University focused on the tornado that struck Jacksonville, Alabama, on March 19, 2018. The interview took place at the Houston Cole Library. Cooper shares her personal experiences of the day, beginning with her decision to stay in Jacksonville rather than attend a concert in Atlanta due to severe weather warnings. She describes the moments leading up to the tornado, including her cautious decision to take shelter at her boyfriend’s apartment near the police station. As the tornado hit, Cooper recounts the intense fear she felt, the structural damage to the police station where they sheltered, and her relief at having narrowly avoided being in her own apartment when it was struck by the tornado. Cooper provides vivid descriptions of the aftermath, detailing the destruction of her apartment complex, the broken windows, and the damage to her car. She reflects on the surreal and eerie atmosphere in the town following the storm, marked by blaring alarms and widespread destruction. Cooper also discusses the challenges she faced in the days and months following the tornado. She speaks about her displacement, the difficulty of finding a new place to live, and the emotional toll of simultaneously dealing with her father’s terminal illness. Despite these hardships, she highlights the support system of friends and family who helped her cope. Cooper emphasizes the importance of counseling and community support in recovering from such a traumatic event and offers advice on disaster preparedness and resilience.
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