At least nine are dead and more deaths are expected after more than a dozen tornadoes tore through the Southeastern U.S. on Thursday, according to officials.
Seven of the deaths were reported in Autauga County, Alabama, northwest of Montgomery, according to county Emergency Management Agency Director Ernie Baggett. Six of the deaths were reported the day the tornadoes made landfall in the state, and one was reported on Friday.
In Georgia, a five-year-old boy was killed when a tree struck the car he was traveling in. The second fatality in Georgia was a Department of Transportation employee who was responding to storm damage, Governor Brian Kemp said in a news conference Friday.
Kemp said “multiple tornadoes” hit the state and the damage is “literally statewide in different places.”
“The storm moved all across our state unfortunately, it’s been a tragic night and morning in our state,” he said. “It’s a very dangerous environment, certainly last night and still is today.”
Search and rescue efforts are underway across the Southeast Friday as officials fear the death toll may rise.
“We’re starting our search back up again this morning to make sure that we have everyone accounted for,” Baggett told NBC News. “We have about, we’re thinking right now, about 40 homes that have either been completely destroyed or have been damaged to a point where no one can stay in them anymore.”
Baggett said he’s never seen anything like this before in Autauga County.
“It’s complete devastation,” he said. “There’s some, a couple of our county roads that there’s only one or two homes left that may be livable.”
Jan. 13, 202301:19
Drone video shows extensive damage in Selma and Greensboro, Alabama, where roofs were torn off of buildings and trees were knocked down by the storm system.
In downtown Selma, some areas are littered with power poles, trees and some roads are completely blocked.
Some residents have had to ride out the storm system. One resident described leaving his car and seeking shelter in a freezer.
“A lot of praying and calling on Jesus,” he said.
Mickey Welsh / USA Today Network
The National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Alabama says it received “a lot of devastating reports of damage” and will be surveying the damage in the state over the next several days, according to a statement.
In Georgia, multiple departments, including the state’s Emergency Management Agency, are responding and assessing damage. The Department of Public Safety helped rescue students who were trapped at a middle school overnight and reunite them with their parents, according to Colonel Chris Wright.
Governor Kemp along with Lt. Governor Burt Jones took a helicopter tour of the damage Friday to also assess the damage resulting from tornadoes in the state.
Minyvonne Burke, Steve Strouss, Doha Madani, Phil Helsel and Nicole Duarte contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
