Emergency services worked through the night searching for trapped people after a deadly storm system will spark tornadoes in some areas of the southern United States, causing the death of at least seven people and extensive damage to the historic city of selma, Alabama.
confirmed the death of at least six people in Autauga County, Alabama, located 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Selma, where a tornado tore through two rural communities for 32 kilometers, destroying dozens of homes, reported Ernie Baggettcounty emergency management director.
At least 12 people suffered serious enough injuries enough to be taken to hospitals by emergency teams, Baggett added to Associated Press. He added that crews were cutting downed trees into Thursday night looking for injured people.
He said about 40 homes were destroyed or badly damaged, including several mobile homes that were thrown into the air. “They weren’t just shot down by air. they flew some distance”.
A more complete picture of the damage was expected to emerge Friday as crews search for more victims, authorities said. The National Weather Service said late Thursday that Tornado damage was reported in at least 14 Alabama counties and five Georgia counties. Early this Friday, tens of thousands of customers were without power in both states.
In selmaa city whose name was etched in the history of the American civil rights movement, members of the council gathered on a sidewalk using the lights of their cell phones to declare the state of emergency.
In Georgia, a passenger died after a tree fell on the vehicle she was riding in during a storm in Jackson, the Butts County Coroner said, lacey prue. In that same county, located southeast of Atlanta, the storm apparently caused a train derailment, authorities said.
authorities in griffinsouth of Atlanta, told local media that several people had been trapped inside an apartment complex after trees fell on it. A Hobby Lobby store lost part of its roof and firefighters freed a man who was trapped for hours under a tree that fell on his house. The city imposed a curfew from 10 PM Thursday to 6 AM Friday.
Across the country, the National Weather Service received more than 40 different reports of tornadoes until nightfall Thursday, when tornado watches were in effect for Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and both Carolinas. However, the tornado reports have yet to be confirmed and some of them could be considered severe wind damage once assessments conclude in the coming days.
(With photos and information from AP)
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Source-www.infobae.com