OLD KINGSTON, Ala. — At least six people were killed Thursday in Autauga County, Ala., the local sheriff’s office said, as storms and tornadoes left trails of damage across the American South.
Tens of thousands of customers were still without power in parts of Alabama and Georgia early Friday morning, as electric crews worked through the night and initial reports of injuries and damage began to emerge.
Enrique Milian, who lives in Autauga County, said in an interview that several of his relatives, including two children, were injured by an apparent tornado Thursday as they were leaving the moving home. his movements and ran towards a family car.
The two children, a 5-month-old grandson and a 1-year-old grandson, were hospitalized with chest injuries and are expected to survive, Mr. Milian said as he stood near a dirt road where several mobile homes are located. actions – including his own and those of others. his two brothers – were destroyed.
Meteorologists are tracking 45 reports of tornadoes across the South on Thursday, mainly in Alabama, and many of the reports may have been confirmed by the National Weather Service, said meteorologist Bob Oravec. study at the agency, said by phone that night. Some have been confirmed by local Weather Service offices.
Thunderstorms were forecast for areas of Central and South Florida on Friday, along with some snow can in northern Alabama. More than 500,000 people living along the Tennessee and North Carolina border have been under a winter storm warning as of 3 a.m. on the East Coast.
But as of Thursday night, the threat of severe weather across the South has passed, Mr. Oravec said, adding that all tornado warnings issued earlier in the day have expired.
“It looks like much of the worst of the weather is over,” he said.
More than 6.8 million people worldwide Alabama and Georgia watched the tornado on Thursday, and the governors of both states declared a state of emergency.
Alabama’s order applies to six counties, including Autauga, which has a population of just under 60,000 and is located in the Appalachian foothills. In 2011, it was hit by a punitive storm system killed three people.
More than 23,000 customers in Alabama and more than 30,000 in Georgia were still without power Friday morning, according to the tracking website power outage.us. The utility team has is working to repair damage along the path of the storm, though it’s unclear if all of those outages were the result of severe weather.
Videos and photos from across the South show trees being cut down as well as damage to the house and other buildings, but the extent of the injuries and property damage was not immediately apparent.
Gary Weaver, deputy director of the Autauga County Emergency Management Agency, said Thursday that there have been reports of injuries and damage, including downed power lines, throughout the county. Weaver said his office had received reports of a number of injuries, but it was unclear how many people were injured or how serious they were.
In Tallapoosa County, Ala., a soldier from Alabama Law Enforcement was taken to the hospital with injuries after a tree fell and crushed his vehicle, according to photos and a statement. Posted on Facebook Thursday.
In Butts County, Ga., a few dozen miles southeast of Atlanta, the deputy county superintendent, J. Michael Brewer, say on Twitter early Friday that storms had severely damaged mobile homes and toppled several mature trees.
Farther west in Spalding County, Ga., the sheriff’s office reported that downed trees were blocking roads and announced that schools and county courts would be closed Friday.
Storms also get students stuck on Thursdays at four Spalding County middle schools. Students from two of the schools later made it home safely, but officials are still working to help 24 children leave the other two, Griffin-Spalding County School System said on his website.
And in the county seat, Griffin, fierce winds tore buildings and toppled trees, according to resident Jessica Diane Pitts. “You can hear furniture being ripped to pieces and people screaming in fear!” Ms. Pitts said in a Facebook message. “I hope I never experience something like this again!”
In Mississippi, the state’s emergency management agency shared a video on Twitter shows a home in Monroe County that has been essentially razed to the ground. Other houses nearby had roof damage, with debris scattered in the area.
“That house was completely destroyed,” Malary White, a spokeswoman for the agency, said Thursday.
Several severe thunderstorm warnings have also been issued for the Atlanta area, including one for the area around Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where Weather service has warned winds of up to 60 mph, quarter-sized hail and possible tornadoes.
And in Selma, Ala., videos and photos that went viral on social media Thursday showed damaged buildings, fallen trees and vehicles with broken glass. The weather service office is near Birmingham, Ala., say on Twitter that there was “confirmed damage” in Selma.
Selma Mayor’s Office said in a statement that the city had “suffered substantial damage from the tornado.” It urged people to limit driving and avoid downed power lines.
At a news conference on Thursday night, officials in Selma said they had received no reports of deaths, but that several people had been injured. A curfew was in place from dusk to dawn across the city.
A man in Selma, Bobby Green, said an ABC affiliate station that he survived the flying debris by taking shelter in his car.
“I think it’s over for me,” he said.
