At least six people were killed in Otoga County, Alabama, on Thursday as storms swept south, Homes were damaged and tens of thousands of customers were without power in parts of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.
Severe weather and the threat of tornadoes were expected to continue well into the night, with two states issuing emergency declarations late Thursday, officials said.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency in six counties, including Otoga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallaposa. “Please continue to proceed with caution and stay safe!” Governor Ivy tweeted.
Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp also announced a state of emergency.
Videos and images from across the south showed felled trees and damage to homes and other structures. There were initial reports of some injuries in central Alabama, but it was unclear how many were injured in the south or how severe the injuries were.
In Mississippi, the state’s emergency management agency Shared a video on Twitter Shows a house in Monroe County essentially being razed to the ground. The roofs of other nearby homes were also damaged, with debris scattered in the area.
“That home was completely destroyed,” said Mallary White, a spokeswoman for the agency, on Thursday. More reports of damage are expected later as local officials continue to assess parts of the state. Say nothing.
The damage in Monroe County in northeast Mississippi is believed to have been caused by a tornado that hit just after 7 a.m. local time, officials said.
As the storm system moved east Thursday morning, it also brought severe weather conditions to parts of Alabama and Georgia.
A series of severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for the Atlanta area, including one for the area around Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, weather service warning Winds up to 60 mph, quarter sized hail and what could be a tornado. The airport was grounded Thursday afternoon due to thunderstorms in the area, according to the air traffic control system command center.
in Bibb County, Alabama., the National Weather Service warned on Twitter that a “huge and extremely dangerous tornado” was moving across the area around 11:34 a.m. local time.Less than an hour later, the Bureau of Meteorology warned residents Dallas County, Alabamaa “huge and extremely dangerous tornado” is moving in Selma.
The Selma mayor’s office said in a statement that the city was “severely damaged” by the tornado.
The office urged residents to “please stay off the road” and avoid downed power lines. “City crews will be out cleaning as soon as practicable,” it said.
At a news conference Thursday night, Selma officials said they had received no reports of deaths, but that there were injuries. A curfew will be in place across the city from dusk to dawn.
“This is a sad day for Selma and Dallas County,” Dallas County Probate Judge Jimmy Nunn said at a news conference. “Please stay home and let emergency responders do what they need to do.”
Videos and images from Selma that circulated on social media Thursday showed damaged buildings, downed trees and vehicles with broken windows.
Weather Service Office in Birmingham, Alabama, tweeted There was “confirmed damage” to the city of Selma.
The severe weather outbreak prompted multiple tornado warnings for parts of Georgia and Alabama, including one at 12:53 p.m. when the Weather Service issued a tornado emergency warning to people in Otoga County, northwest of Montgomery .
“This is a life-threatening situation,” the Met Office says. “Evacuate immediately!!”
There were reports of injuries and damage across the county, including downed power lines, said Gary Weaver, deputy chief of the Otoga County Emergency Management Agency. gentlemen. Weaver said his office had received some reports of injuries, but it was unclear how many were injured or how serious the injuries were.
“We don’t even know the extent of it yet,” Mr. Weaver talked about the damage.
While there have been multiple reports of tornadoes in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, the number and intensity of tornadoes have not been confirmed by the National Weather Service, which sends storms in the hours and days after they occur Investigative teams traveled to storm-affected areas.
More than 57,000 customers in Alabama, 66,000 in Georgia and 1,200 in Mississippi were without power Thursday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages across the country. It’s unclear if all of the outages were caused by bad weather in the south.
Severe weather is expected to continue well into the night, with more than 6.8 million people under a tornado watch in Alabama and Georgia by 7 p.m. ET, forecasters said.This the Met Office says Those under the watch could see tornadoes, quarter-sized isolated hail and wind gusts of up to 65 mph