More storms expected in southern US states as homes and power lines are destroyed
- Roads were closed due to roofs lying across them as well as mudslides, flowing debris, rockfalls, uprooted trees and collapsed walls
- Live power lines are down and thousands of residents are without power amid warnings that some could be without lights and heat for another week
Homes and buildings were damaged and trees were blown down as a line of intense thunderstorms rolled across several Southern states, authorities said, as more intense weather was expected in the region on Friday and Saturday. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
In the west Alabama town of Winfield, Wednesday’s storms damaged buildings in the downtown area, authorities said. Building walls collapsed and roofs were lying in roads, Winfield Police Chief Brett Burleson told WBRC-TV.
“Downtown Winfield is a dangerous area,” the Marion County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement on social media. “There are confirmed live power lines down.”
Police ordered people to stay out of the downtown area as officers and sheriff’s deputies worked to assess the damage in the town, located about 120 kilometres northwest of Birmingham.
“If you do not have to come down here, do not,” Burleson told WBRC. “There are lines down, glass in the road, nails.”
In northeastern Alabama’s Etowah County, an emergency manager reported that a barn was destroyed and at least two homes damaged.