Georgia still assessing tornado damage, while the dental community comes to the aid of its own

    April 28, 2011
    Wednesday, April 27, 2011, storms and tornadoes tore across the South, killing more than 200 people, including 130-plus in Alabama and 13 in Georgia. At least five tornadoes were reported in Georgia since the storms began.

    By Vicki Cheeseman, Associate Editor

    Wednesday, April 27, 2011, storms and tornadoes tore across the South, killing more than 200 people, including 130-plus in Alabama and 13 in Georgia. At least five tornadoes were reported in Georgia since the storms began.

    I contacted two dental offices in Ringgold, the area that took the hardest hit from the storms in Georgia, and got no answer. Fortunately, I was able to reach Nelda Greene, associate executive director for public affairs from the Georgia Dental Association (GDA).

    Greene said the GDA is still in the process of assessing the damage done to the area around Ringgold, which is located about an hour-and-a-half from Atlanta. Association staffers have been going through its list of members to see how the dentists and their offices are faring in the wake of the storms. At this time, the GDA is not aware of any dental practices that have been totally destroyed.

    Since many of the phone lines are down, the GDA is working creatively to make contact with its members, either by calling cellphones or contacting friends within the community. While the state urges people not to travel unnecessarily at this time, no doubt dental emergencies will still occur. Greene said although she is not aware of any specific plans to handle dental emergencies, she is confident that Georgia dentists will find a way to take care of their patients.

    Ringgold is in northwest Georgia, which, according to Greene, is not heavily populated. She is aware of downed trees and fairly widespread loss of power in neighboring towns, particularly Rome and Cartersville.

    In the words of Greene, “It never ceases to amaze me how well the dental community comes to the aid of its colleagues in a situation like this.”

    According to the GainesvilleTimes.com, “In the northwest Georgia town of Ringgold, a suspected tornado flattened about a dozen buildings, trapping an unknown number of people. At least seven people were killed in the county, according to state and local officials.”

    Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers said, "We have major devastation in the city of Ringgold. The city will be closed for business today as we search through debris in hopes of finding other people that are missing." Click here to read more.

    Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those people who have been affected by these spring storms.