This combination of April 27, 2011 and April 14, 2021 photos shows 15th Street in Tuscaloosa, Ala., after a tornado ripped through the area and the same street a decade later. The storm was part of an outbreak of severe weather that killed more than 320 people across six states in 2011. (Michelle Lepianka Carter/The Tuscaloosa News via AP, AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With lowered flags and sombre ceremonies, Alabama paused Tuesday to mark the 10th anniversary of a horrific tornado outbreak that killed more than 250 people statewide, caused billions in damage and reshaped entire communities.

Gov. Kay Ivey issued an order for flags statewide to be lowered to half-staff and proclaimed a “Day of Remembrance” for a “horrible event that has impacted the state of Alabama forever.” Unlike a decade ago, skies were mostly clear and breezes light for a series of events.

In Tuscaloosa, where more than 50 people were killed and entire neighbourhoods were demolished, three new memorial plaques were dedicated during ceremonies to honour victims and recall the horrors of April 27, 2011. Kip Tyner, who represents a particularly hard-hit area on the City Council, recalled the sounds of destruction and the smell of natural gas from broken lines after the storm passed.

“I've never seen such desperation in my entire life,” Tyner said.

The University of Alabama tolled its 25-bell carillon, Denny Chimes, 53 times to honour each of the people who died in the city starting at 5:13 p.m., the time to twister hit.

Tornadoes plowed across the Eastern U.S. over four days, killing more than 320 people in six states and causing an estimated $12 billion in damage. Thousands were injured in hardest-hit Alabama, and thousands of homes, businesses, churches and other structures were destroyed. Cleanup costs exceeded $100 million in Tuscaloosa alone.

To help document the outbreak, the National Weather Service created an extensive online archive with details about the more than 60 twisters that hit Alabama.

The Jefferson County city of Fultondale held a ceremony to dedicate a new storm shelter. In tiny Hackleburg, which still lacks sufficient housing and retail businesses because an EF-5 twister wiped out most of the town businesses and many homes, killing 18 people, dozens of residents bowed in prayer while gathered on a road in an intersection in the shape of cross.

“I hope everyone can make it out and take a moment to remember the friends and family members we lost that tragic day, but also recognize the hope, strength and resilient attitude we’ve shown as a Town and Community to continue to come back stronger,” Mayor Darryl Colburn said in a message on social media.

In the small town of Phil Campbell, where 27 were killed in the same tornado, the high school band planned an evening concert that will conclude with a special piece written to commemorate the anniversary. A community group in the tight-know Shoal Creek Valley, where a dozen were killed, sold commemorative T-shirts with the words: “Strength is what we gain from the trials we survive.”

To help document the 2011 outbreak, the National Weather Service created an extensive online archive with details about the more than 60 twisters that hit Alabama, which was hardest-hit among the states.

In northeast Alabama's DeKalb County, where nearly three dozen people died, a community service was held Saturday in Rainsville to remember the outbreak.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021