MOBILE, Ala. – In the days following the catastrophic landfallof Hurricane Ivan, areas of Alabama hardest hit by the stormsslowly are coming back to life.

As the sun rose Thursday morning, residents of the Mobile areagot their first look at the destruction Ivan left behind.

Oak trees line most of the streets in the historic city, but dueto the high winds and saturated soil, some trees made their wayinto the streets.

One branch found its way into Lee Henderson’s living room.Henderson’s mother, Jeannie, said the damage occurred when a pecantree fell on the home’s electrical box, sending a branch throughthe roof of her son’s home.

Kathy Lovett, a resident of Mobile’s midtown area, awoke to finda downed oak tree in her back yard. The tree took down a power linebefore coming to rest on a shed in her back yard containing somefamily memorabilia.

“I had 30 years of memories in that shed,” Lovett said. “Thirtyyears of my marriage.”

The cleanup period was limited, as officials placed a curfew onMobile County from 6 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday. Countyofficials said no arrests were made for curfew violations.

Chief Mark Barlow of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office saidofficials moved 850 inmates in the Metro Jail to a local highschool because of fears the jail would flood.

Ivan interrupted power service for 80 percent of Alabama Power’scustomers. Alabama Power’s automated outage reporting service nowis telling residents their power will be restored by Sept. 29.

Fortunately for residents inside the Mobile city limits, Ivantook a northeasterly turn before making landfall, sparing the cityfrom the worst of the storm’s fury.

Because of Ivan’s turn, the eye made landfall in the Gulf Shoresarea of Baldwin County, amplifying damage to the beachcommunity.

The storm devastated Pensacola, Fla., which was in the northeastquadrant of the storm.

The Governor Arrives

Friday morning, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley’s jet landed at Mobile’sBrookley Field. He and Sen. Jeff Sessions and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.)boarded an Army black-hawk helicopter to survey the damage alongthe Alabama coastline. In a separate helicopter was Mike Brown,director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who joinedGov. Riley for a press conference at Brookley Field.

“We’ve been hit in the face and our nose is bleeding,” Rileysaid in opening remarks at the conference.

Brown said FEMA has received more than 400,000 applications forfederal aid for Hurricane Ivan.

Brown said the aid will come in the form of grants, notloans.

The total number of applications received for Ivan is expectedto be more than the number for other storms with federal reliefanticipated to be several billions of dollars.

Brown said agencies will distribute one million MREs, mealsready to eat, in the Mobile/Pensacola area, along with nearly 700trucks of ice and water.

“Responding to back-to-back disasters, this is what we do,”Brown said. “This is what gets our adrenaline pumping.”

Despite the structural damage, few people died in Mobile andBaldwin counties due to Ivan, something the governor attributed tothe mandatory evacuation orders officials gave to all residentssouth of Interstate 10.

The Coastal Areas

Dauphin Island in Mobile County and Gulf Shores/Orange Beach inBaldwin County by far sustained the worst damage in the state.

Dauphin Island, a barrier island at the mouth of Mobile Bay, isextremely susceptible to hurricane damage because of its lowelevation and unprotected coastline.

Barlow and Det. Paul Burch of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Officeescorted reporters to the hardest hit area in Mobile County, thewestern end of Dauphin Island, in a four-wheel-drive truck, theonly vehicle capable of traveling the island’s roadways, which werecovered with upwards of three feet of sand.

Toni Chapman, a 61–year–old retiree whose primary residence isa trailer on the island’s north side, was taking pictures of thedamage to her home. The side of her home was ripped off, leavingnothing but wooden beams and her bedroom exposed to theelements.

Across the highway from Chapman, Joe Horn, a retired railroadproject engineer, was trying to make sense of the wreckage thatused to be his home.

Like many houses on the island, Horn’s is built high on pilings,which most people call “stilts”. Horn had enclosed the ground floorof his home for use as a mechanical shop, a shop which now iswithout walls.

Horn was not one of the five residents on the island who defiedmandatory evacuation orders. When he returned to the island, hefound his neighbor’s boat lodged in his wall.

“I’m going to rebuild,” Horn said. “I have to. This is myhome.”

Dauphin Island Police Chief George Goodwin said at last count,21 homes are missing, meaning the structures and pilings arecompletely gone.

“Practically everything on the west end has sustained damage,”Goodwin said. “Many more are going to have to come down because ofstructural problems.”

Rebuilding

The aging State Convention Center in Gulf Shores also took ahard hit from Ivan’s winds and storm surge.

Water destroyed the first floor of the complex, which housed amotel, meeting center and public beach.

At Friday’s press conference, Gov. Riley said the center wouldprobably have to be torn down, along with countless otherstructures.

With tourism making up such a large portion of Alabama’s income,the state has no choice but to rebuild and resume life asnormal.