Strong storms kill 18 in South
14 dead in Georgia as apparent tornadoes hit
A series of furious storms roared through the Southeast on Sunday, killing at least 18 people, splintering homes and toppling trees and power lines in the path.
Officials said 14 people were killed in Georgia.
Catherine Howden, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said Sunday evening that three deaths were confirmed in Georgia’s Dougherty County, and local officials said search and rescue operations were underway after a reported tornado caused widespread destruction in the county.
The Georgia tragedies pushed the two-day death toll from a wall of storms and tornadoes to 18. Four people died Saturday in southern Mississippi, when a tornado left a trail of devastation in and around Hattiesburg.
On Sunday, damaging storms were reported from South Carolina to northern Florida.
In south central Georgia, Karen Moore survived when an apparent tornado destroyed a swath of the Sunshine Acres Mobile Home Park in the Cook County seat of Adel. She said
the storm woke her up before dawn Sunday.
“It sounded like a freight train coming through, and I told my husband that is no train, that is a tornado.” Moore said. “There was rubble everywhere . ... It took out five trailers, doublewides,
I mean, it just turned them.”
Debra Buckholts, who lives just outside Adel, said she feared for the safety of her friends in Sunshine Acres. Closed roads, power outages and spotty cellphone service have made it difficult to check on friends and loved ones.
“Half the trailers aren’t there anymore,” Buckholts said. “There is nothing left of them.”
Gov. Nathan Deal declared a weeklong state of emergency for seven Georgia counties. He said the area could be increased as responders assess the damage.
“These storms have devastated communities and homes in south central Georgia, and the state is making all resources available,” Deal said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Georgians suffering from the storms’ impact.”
As night fell, the danger across the region was far from finished. The National Weather Service forecast a possible “major severe weather outbreak” in parts of the South into early Monday.
In Mississippi on Saturday, at least an EF3 tornado tore through the Hattiesburg area with wind gusts estimated from 136 mph to 165 mph, according to preliminary reports from the weather service. The tornado touched down about 4 a.m., leaving extensive damage for several blocks. The streets were littered with toppled trees and power lines, and thousands of homes and businesses were without power.
“The total debris cleanup will be weeks at this point,” said Lee Smithson, executive director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
California floods
Across the country, fast-moving floodwaters swept through California mountain communities and residents fled homes below hillsides scarred by wildfires as the third — and largest — in the latest series of storms brought a deluge Sunday and warnings about damaging mudslides.
The National Weather Service cautioned that the system was expected to gain strength into the evening and could be the strongest storm in at least seven years. California has been swamped during a wet winter that has brought plenty of rain and snow after years of drought.
Residents in rural Santa Cruz County watched helplessly Sunday as the San Lorenzo River spilled over its banks for the second time this month, sending muddy water and debris into yards and homes. No injuries were reported.
“This is the fastest I’ve ever seen this river move. It’s already flowing under my house. I have maybe 2 feet of clearance before it’s in my living room,” Paradise Park resident Tammy Grove told the Sentinel newspaper.
Battalion Chief Aldo Gonzales with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the river is the highest he has ever seen it.
Rock slides, debris flows and flooding closed roads and snarled traffic up and down the state as the third storm in four days dumped heavy rain and snow in the mountains.
Flash flood watches and warnings were in effect for swaths of greater Los Angeles, where mountain locations could see up to 6 inches of rain. Rain fell at a rate of nearly three-quarters of an inch per hour.