A series of tornadoes moved through five southern states Thursday, causing at least five deaths, destroying dozens of homes.
The following written content from Laura Italiano
At least five people were killed when multiple tornadoes ripped through eastern Alabama Thursday afternoon — and prompting officials to warn residents to remain indoors and off the highways.
Three family members died in the same house, WBRC reported. The fourth died in a mobile home; the fifth died somewhere along Wellington Road, the station reported.
The deaths were confirmed in Ohatchee, an hour east of Birmingham Calhoun County, the local ABC affiliate reported.
Some 14,000 were without power in the Birmingham area as wind-toppled trees knocked out power lines. Parts of Mississippi and Tennessee were also at risk of twisters, the national Storm
“Everyone inside was okay! They were under their work desks,” one resident tweeted from Pelham, where the first tornado was recorded, along with photos of metal structures that had collapsed like wet cardboard on Belcher Drive.
Some 30 to 50 homes there sustained damage, the Pelham Police Department said.
Flash flood warnings were issued for Tuscaloosa, Walker, Marion, Jefferson, Pickens, Winston, Fayette and Lamar counties, CBS News meteorologist Zach Covey tweeted at 2:30 p.m. local time.
“Seek higher ground immediately!” he warned.
Tornado warnings were issued for Lauderdale, Newton and Kemper counties, Covey tweeted.
The storm was so intense, airborne debris could be tracked by radar near Ohatchee.
“This is a ‘debris ball’ on radar,” local Fox meteorologist Tom Wachs tweeted, also at 2:30 p.m., along with a radar image of the flying wreckage’s path.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for 46 counties.
Video footage from the town of Eagle Point showed houses dwarved by one looming tornado — and a drone overview from the local Fox affiliate showed a half-dozen luxury homes reduced to rubble.
The tornado there crumbled a brick home in the Eagle Point Subdivision near the Birmingham border.
“Occupants inside this home thankfully rescued, taking shelter in basement,” ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck tweeted.
Other homes in the subdivision suffered extensive damage, according to tweeted video.
Another home in the town was reduced to little more than kindling, according to one tweeted photo.
“No one was home thank God,” one family member said.
Southwest of Ohatchee, multiple trailer homes were destroyed. Tornados leveled a church and a large commercial building, according to tweeted images.
In South Birmingham, a young meteorology student said his life passed before his eyes as a tornado grazed his house. Read more from NYPost
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