25 die as fierce tornados rip through US states

RARE December tornados knocked cars off a highway and flattened homes in Texas, bringing the death toll to 25 in days of storms tearing across the southern United States.

The extreme weather, fuelled by unseasonably warm air, is likely to continue for the next few days, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported snarling up holiday travel across a large section of the country.

The deaths in Texas on Saturday, came as millions of residents in the southern United States struggle to recover from fierce storms and heavy flooding, with more rain in the forecast.

At least 17 people were killed in storm-related incidents since Wednesday in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, officials said.

At least eight people were killed as tornados touched down in parts of the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

A twister struck in Garland, Texas, in the early hours of yesterday, city officials said.

“Five deaths have been confirmed,” the statement said. “Extensive damage has been reported to vehicles, homes, and apartments in the same area.” It said there was also an unconfirmed number of injuries and that teams of rescuers were arriving to help scour damaged areas.

The tornados snapped power cables and knocked over pylons, leaving some 30 000 Garland residents in the dark.

Three other people were killed in weather-related incidents in Collin County, just north of the metroplex a newspaper said.

Local television weather reporters said that 11 twisters touched down in the region.

In Alabama, heavy flooding continued yesterday, following several days of heavy rain that began on Thursday.

Governor Robert Bentley declared a state of emergency to deal with the flooding just before Christmas Day tornados uprooted trees and tore off rooftops.

One even touched down in Birmingham, the state’s most populous city. There were no fatalities, but the twister damaged three homes, Birmingham Fire Department Chief Charles Gordon said.

The NWS said the Birmingham twister packed winds of up to 209km/h.

Near the state capital Montgomery, 336 inmates at the minimum-security Red Eagle Community Work Centre were forced to evacuate due to flooding, local media reported.

And residents of the town of Elba are nervously eyeing a levee that protects them from water from the Pea River.

In Mississippi, where Governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency to deal with flooding, “severe storms” were forecast for late yesterday through to today, the state Emergency Management Agency (EMA) said.

“Tornadoes are possible and residents are asked to remain weather aware,” the EMA said.

Early EMA damage reports showed 241 homes destroyed or with major damage, and more than 400 total homes affected.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal also declared states of emergency in counties affected by the weather. The NWS warned of “blizzard conditions” from west Texas into Kansas, and “hazardous ice accumulations” in Oklahoma.

“Dangerous flooding will extend Texas to central Illinois,” it said.

Flood warnings and advisories also remained in effect in parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and other areas in the southeast. — AFP

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