UPDATE 2-At least fourteen dead in Alabama tornado -sheriff
- Country:
- United States
At least fourteen people, some of them children, have died after a tornado swept through Lee County, Alabama on Sunday, destroying numerous homes and leaving a death toll that could rise as rescuers sift through the rubble, Sheriff Jay Jones said. Emergency workers were expected to toil into the night, pulling bodies and the injured out of the rubble of destroyed homes and businesses.
"The challenge is the sheer volume of the debris where all the homes were located," Jones said in an interview with CNN. "It's the most I've seen that I can recall." Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said that the death toll could rise.
“We’ve still got people being pulled out of rubble,” he told the Birmingham News newspaper early on Sunday evening. “We’re going to be here all night.” Severe weather unleashed one of numerous possible tornadoes that threatened the Southern United States on Sunday afternoon. Tornado warnings and watches were in effect for parts of Georgia and Alabama through Sunday evening.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey warned residents on Twitter that more severe weather might be on the way. She said the state was working to help families who had been impacted. "Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives in the storms that hit Lee County today," Ivey wrote on Twitter. "Praying for their families & everyone whose homes or businesses were affected." Lee County Schools announced on Twitter that campuses in the county would be closed on Monday. The storm left more than 10,000 customers without power, the Birmingham News said, citing the utility Alabama Power.
As thousands faced a night without power, temperatures looked set to fall to near freezing following the storm. "Colder air will sweep into the Southeast behind the severe weather with temperatures dropping into the 30s (1 C) southward to central Georgia and across most of Alabama by Monday morning," AccuWeather meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said. "Those without power who rely on electric heat need to find ways to say warm."
(With inputs from agencies.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Mr. Children
- Married... with Children
- Feed My Starving Children
- Madison County- Alabama
- Ashley HomeStore
- Ashton Woods Homes
- Atlantic Vacation Homes
- The Rescuers Down Under
- The Rescuers
- The Dog Rescuers
- Language family
- Word family
- Sylvanian Families
- Fulton County- Georgia
- Florida Georgia Line
- Georgia Secretary of State
- Injured Gadgets
- Georginio Wijnaldum
- Jordan Henderson
- A Thousand Years
ALSO READ
Landi Joins Biles as Co-Head Coach of Georgia Gymnastics
Georgia's 'foreign agents' bill faces second reading next week, TASS reports
Thousands protest in Georgia against 'foreign agents' bill
Georgian police crack down on 'foreign agent' bill protesters with water cannon, tear gas
Georgian police fire tear gas, water cannons at protesters by Parliament