The National Weather Service tornado database for Houston County lists 56 tornadoes between 1912 and January 2024. The most recent big one — the EF-2 of January 9, 2024 — caused a death, ten injuries and roughly $6 million in damage, leveling parts of Cottonwood two hours after an EF-1 dropped golf-ball hail on Dothan’s south side.
And that is just tornadoes. When Hurricane Michael crossed the Wiregrass in October 2018, Houston County logged 47 calls for trees fallen into structures in a single night, with 22 people rescued and tens of thousands without power across the region.
Why storm debris beats the curbside system
Dothan’s curbside rules were written for yard maintenance, not disasters: limbs cut under five feet, under eight inches thick, in neat piles. A single downed oak busts every one of those limits — and limbs over eight inches plus their stumps are excluded from collection outright. Out in unincorporated Houston County, any pile of yard debris triggers a charge, and free bulk pickup is capped at a 10-by-10-foot pile.
The practical storm plan
- Call early. After a storm, every roll-off in the region is spoken for within a day or two. Morning calls get same-day drops; afternoon calls join the queue.
- One big can beats two small ones. Wet oak is heavy — a yard waste container sized right saves a second haul fee.
- Separate the streams. Tree debris and structural debris (shingles, fencing, siding) may go to different facilities — tell the provider what is in the pile.
- Insurance photos first. Document before the cleanup starts, not after.
For a tree on the lawn it is a yard waste can; for a tree through the roof it is same-day service. Either way, (334) 453-7676 reaches a local provider who knows which trucks are running.