The majority of states in the South of the US are facing severe weather after storms and tornadoes ravaged parts of the states on Sunday and Monday. Parts of Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama are at major risk according to the National Storm Prediction centre after storms damaged places in Mississippi and killed two in Georgia.
The south zone is home to more than 11 million people and cities including Nashville, Birmingham and Jackson are at high risk. “We’ll see all three threats as far as to hail, wind and tornadoes on Tuesday,” said Mike Edmonston, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Mississippi. He added that the weather could include wind gusts of up to 70mph, hails and tornadoes are likely from Tuesday.
The heavy weather started across the south on Sunday, tearing down homes and uprooting trees from Mississippi to West Virginia. A Tornado was seen in Atlanta and it forced thousands to seek shelter. One man was killed when a falling tree dragged a power line into his vehicle in Douglasville, Georgia. "When they arrived on the scene, they discovered the driver trapped inside the vehicle with power lines and a tree on the vehicle," Douglas County communications director Rick Martin said in the release.
Also, a 55-year-old woman, Carla Harris was killed after a tree fell on her home in Bonaire, Georgia. "When Fire Department crews arrived, they found a large pine tree had fallen into the living room area of the home causing substantial damage to the roof and outer walls. Tragically crews also discovered that Mrs Carla Harris, 55, was struck by the falling tree and sustained fatal injuries," according to the news release from the Houston County Emergency Management Agency.
In Mississippi, forecasters claimed 12 tornadoes appeared on Sunday evening including the Yazoo City twister that stretched over 30 miles and another moved through Byram and Terry that damaged over 1000 yards. In South Carolina, one tornado was reported on Monday noon in Abbeville county. The tornado was on the ground for a while and according to the National Weather Service, no casualties were recorded. "We were downstairs watching the news, and when he said, ‘tornado emergency,’ we all took cover,” Matthew Bazzy of Elvis Presley Drive told NBC affiliate WTVA. "And then my dad yelled, ‘Here it comes,' and we could hear the whipping of the wind in the backyard and just crashing and banging and all kinds of stuff," he said. The museum of Elvis Presley wasn't affected. Calhoun County Sheriff Greg Pollan also added that a community of about 2000 people was hit hard by the storms.
"I don’t even recognize my neighbourhood anymore," Calhoun City resident Martha Edmond told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal after a tree fell through her roof causing severe water damage.
In Greenwood, trees were downed and power lines too as a vehicle was blown up by them. A storage unit building was also destroyed. In southern Kentucky, a storm was recorded in Tompkinsville on Monday morning. The storm damaged homes, knocked down trees and power lines. No casualties were recorded according to Fire Chief, Kevin Jones. In West Virginia, the Jefferson County communication supervisor said one person was injured when a tornado hit a lumber company. The injury was minor as the person was treated on the scene.
National Weather Service Surveyors have tasked citizens to be proactive during this period as they claimed more storms are coming. They confirmed that a motorist died in Atlanta when a tornado struck. It was the same thunderstorm that sent thousands of people to seek shelter. The tornado peaked at 90mph and ran about 1.5 miles.