A falling tree killed a person in Florida as Tropical Storm Elsa moved through Wednesday, and in Georgia, 11 people were injured when a suspected tornado touched down at a submarine base, officials said.
The injuries at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay were almost all classified as condition “green,” meaning not life-threatening, base spokesman Scott Bassett said. A woman was listed as condition “yellow” as a precaution because she is pregnant, he said.
The suspected tornado, which is thought to be related to the tropical storm, touched down around 5:50 p.m., Bassett said. No submarines were damaged, but there was damage to recreational vehicles in the base RV park and reports of damage to buildings, the base said in a statement.
Earlier, a tree fell in Jacksonville, Florida, and struck two cars, killing one person, a spokesperson for the Jackson fire department said. The incident is considered weather-related.
By 8 p.m. Wednesday, Elsa was over southern Georgia, bringing heavy rain and with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Its center was about 75 miles west of Brunswick.
July 7, 2021
The storm regained hurricane strength Tuesday but weakened to a tropical storm with 65-mph winds by the time it made landfall in Taylor County in Florida’s Big Bend region Wednesday morning, the center said.
The howling wind “sounded like a train” in Cedar Key early Wednesday, Jonathan Riches told NBC affiliate WFLA.
“Rain was pounding,” Riches said. “The hotel I was staying in, the shingles were coming off the roof itself.”
In Port Charlotte, north of Fort Myers, almost 11 inches of rain had been recorded by noon, the National Weather Service said.
In addition to more rain in parts of Georgia and South Carolina, Elsa could produce tornadoes, according to the hurricane center forecast.
A survey team from the National Weather Service will conduct a survey and determine if a tornado struck the submarine base in Georgia. Everyone who was at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay RV Park has been accounted for, the base said.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said the storm caused damage throughout the city Wednesday afternoon, and he urged residents to stay safe and prepared by knowing evacuation zones and having kits.
“This is really early in the season,” Curry said. “We’re just outside of the July 4th holiday, and we’ve had our first storm, and unfortunately we’ve had a fatality.”
There may have been a tornado in the city, but that will need to be confirmed by weather service officials, Curry said. Authorities cautioned residents to be aware of leaning or downed trees and downed power lines.
Elsa is forecast to be in South Carolina by Thursday, and then across or near the Mid-Atlantic coast Friday as it moves northeast. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for 92 counties that could be affected, which allows state aid.
Elsa was the first hurricane in this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
