At least 6 people are dead in Alabama, United States, after tornadoes struck the state on Thursday. A five-year-old boy was also killed in the state of Georgia due to the deadly storm, bringing the total death count due to the recent Southeastern storms to 7.
Tornadoes and deadly storms swept through the Southeast region of the United States on Thursday. Some states affected by the devastating tornadoes and storms include Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
Nearly 200,000 electric customers experienced power outages across Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia; bringing the lives of the citizens to a halt.
Responses to The Emergency in Selma, Alabama
Homes and businesses were damaged in the city of Selma of Alabama state. Emergency response crews were deployed and made available on the ground to assist affected people.
Most streets in Selma had been closed because of broken power lines and fallen trees. A curfew was implemented in the city by officials from dusk to dawn, warning residents about the exposed power lines and the likelihood of a dangerous situation occurring as a result.
With power lines being down and there being power outages in many areas, Selma’s city council held an emergency meeting outside. The meeting audio was recorded on a mobile phone and streamed on Facebook. Due to the extensive damage that occurred to their homes, multiple members could not attend the meeting. The body decided that it would allocate 2 million dollars from the surplus of its budget for the disaster.
Fatalities That Occurred
Unfortunately, the disastrous tornadoes claimed the lives of several people in Autauga County, Alabama. Governor Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa counties.
“​Right now, we have six confirmed fatalities,” Emergency Management Director Ernie Baggett told weather.com on a phone call, around the time that the fatalities had occurred. “​The best we can tell is about 40 homes have major damage or have been completely destroyed.” B​aggett said most of the deaths took place in mobile homes. The hardest hit areas were the communities of Marbury and Old Kingston.
All students in Selma schools are safe, according to WFSA-TV, citing the words of the superintendent. Schools went on a weather lockdown on the same day the storms swept through the state of Alabama.
Another death was recorded in Georgia when high winds toppled a tree onto a vehicle. The deceased individual from Georgia was a five-year-old boy.
The sheriff’s office of Carroll County, Georgia, said in a Facebook post that they had received reports of damage, fallen trees and power outages throughout the country with the latest storm that had passed through.
Severity of The Tornadoes
“This appears to be a multi-vortex tornado about 20 miles north of Montgomery, Alabama, Thursday afternoon,” weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said, regarding one of the deadly tornadoes.
“Multi-vortex tornadoes can have smaller suction vortices rotating around and within the larger circulation. These can produce heavier damage within a given tornado.”
Birmingham Opens Storm Shelters
Four storm shelters were open for the relief of the citizens during the storm in Birmingham, Alabama. These shelters were opened at Jimmie Hudson Park, Pratt City Park, Smithfield Estates Park and South Hampton School. The city urged anyone under a tornado or severe weather warning to seek refuge immediately in a shelter, safe room, basement or small interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy structure.
