I have some friends in Athens and two colleagues in Tuscaloosa. The friends and one of the colleagues (and his family) are safe, though without power at the moment. Haven't heard one way or another about the other colleague, although he may well have been out of town.

To reply to mg's and Penny's comments:

It is almost impossible to make something "weatherproof", particularly when facing an EF4 or EF5 tornado. Basically the only thing that would survive a direct (or even glancing) blow from a tornado of that magnitude would be a solid concrete or solid grouted (and reinforced) masonry box. All sides, including the roof. And no windows, or thick multi-paned impact-resistant ones. Kind of expensive to build a whole building that way, and good luck getting any cell or wireless service inside. You can build resistant structures at the lower magnitudes (EF0 to EF2, even maybe EF3) where the wind speeds are consistent with a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.

As for the popularity of manufactured (i.e. mobile) homes...well, the average cost of a house in the US is around $220,000 give or take. That's a $44,000 downpayment at 20% (traditional mortgage) or $11,000 at 5% (new FHA loan standards). The former is more than a lot of people make in a year. If those folks don't want to live in an apartment...well, a manufactured home is about all they can afford.

-- Gary