Storms kill at least 20 in southeast US
A dangerous weather system killed at least 20 people in the southeastern United States, with Georgia officials reporting 16 deaths on Sunday after severe thunderstorms and tornadoes buffeted several states.
The storms killed 12 in Cook, Berrien and Brooks counties early Sunday in Georgia, officials managers said, with mobile home particularlyhard hit. Photos showed collapsed buildings, destroyed rooftops, toppled trees and debris-littered fields.
Four people were killed in Dougherty County by a suspected tornado that struck a mobile home park in east Albany Sunday afternoon, The Albany Herald reported.
Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas posted that the trailer park was devastated. “It looks like a nuclear bomb went off,” ajc.com reported.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared an emergency in the south-central part of the state, warning that dangerous conditions persisted as wind and flood warnings remained in effect for much of the state early on Monday.
“I urge all Georgians to exercise caution and vigilance in order to remain safe and prevent further loss of life or injuries,” Deal said.
First Baptist Church Adel, near the Florida-Georgia state line, was sheltering more than 50 people, said pastor Bill Marlette, who had just helped inform a family that two of their relatives were among the dead.
“There’s a lot of hurting people right now,” he said. “There’s just a sense of shock.”
The storms in Georgia followed a predawn tornado in Mississippi on Saturday that killed four. Severe weather also injured more than 50 others and damaged about 480 homes in Mississippi.
The system prompted forecasters to issue a rare “high risk” warning of severe storms threatening parts of southern Georgia, north and central Florida and Alabama, the first such warning since 2014. South Carolina also was warned of possible severe weather.
As the system churned up the East Coast, emergency management officials warned New York City residents to brace for winds of up to 70 mph through Monday night, with several inches of drenchingrains. Flood advisories and watches were issued for four of the city's five boroughs.
On the US West Coast, heavy rains from a separate system drenched parts of Southern California, with forecasters warning the storm could be the most severe in several years.
There’s a lot of hurting people right now. There’s just a sense of shock.” Bill Marlette, First Baptist Church Adel pastor