On a more personal note...

[nolly]

I heard from my grandmother tonight; my grandparents live in Birmingham, AL. The effects there were, of course, much less severe than they were on the coast, but many, many trees and power lines were downed. My grandparents (and many others) are still without power; they have a generator, but it didn't work -- probably due to a lightning strike. It's fixed now, but there are power lines down across the street they live on, and the main road into their area is also closed, as are others. Power restoration is delayed because many of the crews are down at the Gulf, where the needs are worse.