A night tornado caused catastrophic damage to a city near Atlanta after severe weather and several tornadoes swept Georgia and Alabama, officials said on Friday.
Newnan’s city center was hit by what authorities said appeared to be a long-lasting tornado that caused damage to the EF-2 or more. This level brings wind speeds from 111 to 135 mph, which can remove houses from their foundations, remove large sections of roofs and demolish mobile homes, among other destructive results.
NBC News affiliate WXIA reported that the school suffered what the authorities described as an “overwhelming” amount of damage. The school district canceled classes on Friday morning. Newnan is a city of almost 40,000 people southwest of Atlanta.
In a tweet, Governor Kemp said he would visit Coweta County, where Newnan is located, on Saturday to offer help and assess the damage caused by the storm.
One person died in a medical emergency in Coweta County, and doctors were unable to reach the area because of the severe weather, adding to the five Alabama residents who were confirmed dead on Thursday after the same series of storms and tornadoes that swept that state.
The National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama, reported at midday on Friday that two of the confirmed tornadoes that landed in the state were “at least“EF-2 Force.
In a press release tweeted on Friday, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said two separate tornadoes caused catastrophic damage to Ohatchee and Eagle Point.
All five deaths in Alabama occurred in Calhoun County, whose coroner said four people died in Ohatchee – James William Geno, 72; Joe Wayne Harris, 74; Ebonique Harris, 38; and Barbara Harris, 69 – and one person, Emily Myra Wilborn, 72, died in Wellington.
WVTM, an affiliate of NBC News, reported preliminary data showing 19 tornadoes that hit central Alabama on Thursday.
Last week, severe weather swept through Alabama and other parts of the South, causing more than two dozen tornadoes and damaging and destroying homes.
The storms that started on March 17 produced 25 tornadoes in Alabama, according to a research report by the National Weather Service. Three wounded were registered in the state.
Phil Helsel contributed.