Squeaky tornado sirens and howling winds roared in parts of western Georgia early Friday morning, as heavy storms hit southern states, including Alabama, where at least five people died in tornadoes that destroyed homes, shattered trees and dented businesses. .
Nearly two dozen tornadoes lashed the southeastern United States on Thursday night and Friday morning, including 17 in Alabama alone. More severe weather is forecast for the region and Tennessee over the weekend.
The multiple twisters emerged from a so-called “supercell” of storms that later moved to Georgia, said John De Block, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Birmingham.
A large and dangerous tornado swept through Coweta County, in the Atlanta, Georgia area, shortly after midnight on Friday, generating a tornado emergency in Newnan City and surrounding communities. There have been several reports of fallen trees and power lines.
Newnan police asked residents to “get off the road” in a Facebook post, explaining that emergency officials were inspecting the area.
Newnan Utilities said the storm damaged its phone and internet services. Hours later, general manager Dennis McEntire said the phone lines were back. He asked residents to follow the utility on social media to get updates.
McEntire said the storm’s damage was severe and “it will take several days, with the help of outside teams, to put the system back together.”
Keith Brady, mayor of Newnan, said no deaths were reported immediately.
Many had to be rescued while the winds took the roofs off the houses and simply collapsed many of them.
Mary Rose and Larry DeArman were trapped in the wreckage and were taken to the hospital after struggling to leave their destroyed home.
“When it happened, it was like a roar, there was no train … it was a roar,” she said, adding that “the house started to shake and then everything came crashing down on us.”
The couple returned later and the neighbors helped to rescue some items from the house, with Mary Rose saying that she cared only for “needs”.
Then her bag was found. “That’s it, this is the bag,” she told ABC’s Good Morning America, when a small blue bag was handed to her while she was under an umbrella, with a shaken, but secure face mask.
The heavy storm followed a series of tornadoes that devastated Alabama on Thursday, including one that officials said had traveled about 100 miles across the state.
In eastern Alabama, Calhoun County sheriff Matthew Wade said five people died in a storm that cut a diagonal path across the county, hitting mostly rural areas – something that probably prevented the death toll from increasing.
“Our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers go out to families and we will do our best to let them know that we love them,” said Wade at an evening meeting.
Several school districts were closed or delayed on Friday due to damage.
Vast areas of Shelby County near Birmingham have been badly damaged.
Meanwhile, well-known TV meteorologist James Spann in Birmingham learned on the air that the tornado was heading straight for his home and family.
He left the screen briefly and came back live in 15 minutes to report: “We had major damage to my home. I had to be sure, my wife is fine, but the tornado went right through there and it’s not good. It’s bad. It’s bad.”
In the town of Pelham, James Dunaway said he initially ignored the tornado warning when he came over his phone. But then he heard the tornado approaching, left the upstairs room where he was watching television and entered a corridor, just before the storm exploded on the roof and on the sides of his house. Your room was completely exposed.
“I am very lucky to be alive,” Dunaway, 75, told Al.com.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey previously issued an emergency declaration for 46 counties, and authorities have opened shelters in and around Birmingham.