NASHVILLE, Tennessee— Residents of Georgia and Alabama began
cleaning up the wreckage after powerful tornadoes ripped through the two states
during the night, killing at least six people, downing power lines and trees
and shredding residential neighborhoods.
اضافة اعلان
In Georgia, some of the worst destruction hit Newnan, a city of
roughly 35,000 people about 64km southwest of Atlanta. Officials in Coweta
County reported one fatality in the area.
The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center recorded 24 preliminary
tornado reports across Alabama and Georgia, as the region was bombarded by hail
and heavy rainfall.
“I want to express my deep sympathy and regrets to each and
every person that had property losses during the night, those that were
injured,” said Sheriff Lenn Wood of Coweta County.
In Alabama, at least five people were killed as homes and
businesses were leveled. The National Weather Service reported several
tornadoes hitting Alabama, including one that traveled more than 161km, from
near Birmingham to the northeast corner of the state.
In Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, authorities were working,
clearing roads made impassable by downed trees and utility lines and searching
through the wreckage of homes to find anyone who might have been injured or
killed.
The five deaths in Alabama were reported in Calhoun County,
between Birmingham and the Georgia state line, where crews were performing
search-and-rescue operations, officials said.
The victims included a family of three that lived in a wooden
home in Ohatchee, a man in a mobile home in the same town and a woman in a
mobile home in Wellington, the Calhoun County coroner, Pat Brown, said.
In Ohatchee, utility crews worked to clear downed power lines where
the path of the tornado felled the roof of a large commercial building at the
Ohatchee Industrial Park. Nearby, a small mobile home lay on its roof.
In Florence, Alabama, a police officer was struck by lightning
at the height of the afternoon storm, said Chief Mike Holt of the city’s police
force. The officer suffered burns but survived.
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