#UPDATE: At least 14 people have died in a tornado in Alabama as severe weather destroyed mobile homes, snapped trees and left a trail of destruction amid weather warnings extending into Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, authorities say. https://t.co/wqkjd8qFvd pic.twitter.com/5pB4KE4CST
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) 4 March 2019
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2188467/tornado-strike-kills-14-alabama United States & Canada
Twister terror: at least 23 killed in Alabama tornado strike
- Severe weather unleashed one of numerous possible tornadoes that threatened the Southern United States on Sunday afternoon
- Authorities warned that the death toll could rise further
This handout image provided by Justin Merritt from his Instagram account shows a tornado in Dothan, Alabama. Photo: AFP
A tornado killed 23 people and caused “catastrophic” damage in the southern US state of Alabama on Sunday, local officials said.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said that children were among the dead and that it was possible the death toll could continue to rise.
Emergency workers faced a grim night of pulling the dead and injured from the wreckage of homes and businesses.
“The challenge is the sheer volume of the debris where all the homes were,” Jones said in an interview with CNN. “It’s the most I’ve seen that I can recall.”
On Twitter, US President Donald Trump urged residents of Alabama and other areas affected by the storms to be “careful and safe”.
“Tornadoes and storms were truly violent and more could be coming,” Trump wrote. “To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!”
This is what Lee Road 100 looks like just outside of Beauregard. Incredible destruction from this #tornado @spann pic.twitter.com/EE91ONjTbm
— Scott Fillmer (@scottfillmer) March 3, 2019
Destruction left by the storm was about 400 metres (440 yards) wide and stretched for the “several miles that it travelled on the ground”, according to Jones.
Still and video images showed trees that had been snapped in two, debris-strewn roads and wrecked houses in the wake of the storm.
A fallen mobile phone tower lies across US Route 280 highway in Lee County, Alabama. Photo: AP
The NWS had issued a tornado warning for areas including Lee County earlier on Sunday, calling on residents to: “TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows.”
NWS Birmingham tweeted the “all clear” several hours later and urged people to “stay out of damaged areas so first responders can do their job.”
Debris in Lee County, Alabama after what appeared to be a tornado struck in the area Sunday. Photo: AP
While Jones referred to a single storm, CNN reported that two tornadoes had hit Lee County in quick succession, some of “at least a dozen” is said tore through Alabama and the neighbouring state of Georgia on Sunday.
NWS Birmingham appeared to confirm that there were multiple twisters in the area, tweeting that the “first tornado to impact Lee County today was at least an EF-3 & at least 1/2 mi wide”.
The EF-3 designation -on a scale of 0 to 5 – means the tornado had winds of 136 to 165mph (218 to 266km/h).
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press