Several powerful tornadoes tore through northern Alabama on Thursday, killing at least five people, injuring dozens of others and destroying entire neighbourhoods.
A tornado killed one person and caused extensive damage in another part of Alabama on 26 January 2021. Photo: 2021 Getty Images
The five confirmed fatalities were in Ohatchee, a town of about 1200 people in the northwestern corner of the state where a twister ripped apart homes and downed trees and power lines, according to the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency.
Calhoun County coroner Pat Brown confirmed to the Birmingham News that four adults were killed in Ohatchee, three of them from the same family. A fifth adult was killed in the Wellington, Alabama, area. None were identified.
Rescue crews were tending to injured survivors and searching for additional victims, the agency said.
Photos posted on social media showed a line of buildings near Ohatchee that had collapsed or been ripped apart, with roofs sheared off, exposing furniture and other contents. A white church steeple, still intact, rested next to a destroyed structure.
Tens of thousands of people were left without power.
Floral designer Allison Allred, 23, hid in a hallway with her 73-year-old grandmother in their home in Georgia's Bartow County, near the Alabama state line.
"I was crying. ... We got really panicked. ... My heart was racing. It was awful," she said in a phone interview. "It had been hailing and it was raining so heavy you couldn't see anything. It was very dark, but thankfully we are safe."
A police officer in Florence was struck by lightning as he set up road barriers, the police department there said. The officer was "conscious and responsive" at North Alabama Medical Centre, Florence police said on Twitter.
At least two storms produced long tracking, violent tornadoes that swept across about 150km of Alabama on Thursday afternoon, said National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Darden in Birmingham.
'Significant damage'
More tornadoes may have touched down in the area, Darden said, but the number of twisters would be unknown until a survey can be completed in the coming days.
"The number is not as important as the magnitude of what has transpired," he said. "We are seeing significant damage in several communities. There are many counties in central Alabama that have been hard hit with substantial damage."
The news website Al.com said people had suffered "multiple injuries" in Shelby County, southeast of Birmingham. No further details were immediately available.
"Shelby County has suffered significant tornado damage. We can confirm local residential structures have been completely destroyed," Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego said in a statement to Al.com.
"Our priority at the moment is identifying those citizens in need of emergency medical attention. ... This search and outreach effort will continue throughout the night and into the early morning hours."
The Jefferson County Sheriff alerted residents that another twister had struck there and urged residents to seek shelter.
First lady Jill Biden cancelled a trip to Alabama with actress Jennifer Garner that had been planned for Friday to promote President Joe Biden's coronavirus relief plans, according to the White House.
In 2019, more than 20 people - including three children - died after two tornadoes caused extensive damage to buildings and roads in eastern Alabama.
- Reuters / BBC