A teenager housed in his basement was killed and several members of his family were seriously injured when a tornado threw a tree at his Alabama home, police said on Tuesday. At least 30 other people were injured when the tornado opened a path of destruction north of Birmingham, officials said.
The tornado damaged 10 miles from Fultondale to Center Point, reaching an area badly damaged by a much larger tornado a decade ago.
Pieces of buildings, furniture, appliances and trees were scattered and the vehicles ended up in awkward positions, as if a child had thrown its Matchbox car collection into the air. A car fell upside down against some tree branches in a large pile of rubble.
The Jefferson County coroner’s office identified the teenager as Elliott Hernandez, 14. He was pronounced dead at the scene on Tuesday morning, and several members of his family were seriously injured when his home collapsed, trapping them in the basement, said Fultondale police chief DP Smith. .
“They were doing what they should be doing,” said the chief.
Hernandez was in ninth grade, according to Jefferson County Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin. He said other students may be homeless now, and Fultondale High School has been so damaged that he doubts students will be able to return to classrooms this year.
“All the buildings on this campus have been touched,” said Gonsoulin.
In a neighborhood, it was difficult to say where the houses were among the tangled debris. Children’s toys and clothes were spread across a landscape where all visible structures were damaged or destroyed.
Tim and Patti Herring ran to the bathroom when they received notice that a tornado was coming their way. It happened moments later, tearing off the roof and both sides of his house while they snuggled in the bathtub.
“I could feel things falling and hitting me, but we’re fine,” said Tim Herring.
Shaken and with tears in her eyes, Patti searched the rubble for a missing cat and her late mother’s beloved belongings.
AP Photo / Jay Reeves
Fultondale Mayor Larry Holcomb said 18 people were transported to hospitals for treatment, reports WIBS-TV, a CBS affiliate.
Fultondale fire chief Justin McKenzie said search and rescue teams were going from house to house to check the rooms of a heavily damaged hotel. Six people were unhurt from damaged structures early Tuesday morning.
Injuries range from mild to severe, but search and rescue efforts are still ongoing, said James Coker, director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency.
Police blocked intersections leading to the worst-hit areas of Fultondale, a suburb that is home to about 9,000 people. Pieces of buildings were strewn across the mountainous terrain filled with broken trees. Utility lines crashed on the roads. Some houses did not have entire roofs.
The sound of chainsaws cut through the cold, sunny morning and a helicopter circled overhead.
Coker said that Interstate 65, near Walker Chapel Road, is closed due to overturned power lines and debris. He also said that workers are removing obstacles from the roads. Other houses and buildings were damaged by the storm, including a Hampton Inn hotel, which suffered significant structural damage.
County emergency management agency tweeted that several schools would be closed on Tuesday for traditional and remote students, including Fultondale High, Center Point High and Clay-Chalkville High.
“The people of Fultondale suffered a heavy blow last night – I am saddened by the loss of lives, injuries, damaged homes and businesses,” Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said on Twitter early Tuesday. “I offer my prayers and deepest condolences and promise all the support and resources that our state has to offer. I am with you, Fultondale!”
Fultondale also caught the tail of an EF4 tornado that swept Alabama from Tuscaloosa north of Jefferson County on April 27, 2011, killing 65 people and wounding 1,500 along a more than 80-mile long damage path. according to the National Meteorological Service.
Research teams at the meteorological service have yet to confirm the estimated strength of this tornado, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has described it as a “big tornado”.
“Unfortunately, here in Fultondale we have a lot of experience with this kind of thing,” said McKenzie.
After blowing in Georgia, storms hit North Carolina and South Carolina at dawn. Sailors on Lake Murray, near Columbia, have been warned to look for a port due to winds up to 80 km / h, the National Weather Service said in a statement on Tuesday.