Death Toll in US Storms Rises to 18

Tuscaloosa’s twister was measured as an EF-0, with winds at 75 miles per hour and as wide as the length of one and a half football fields.

Damage caused by a tornado is seen in a neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama, Saturday.

“It appears that a significant tornado moved through Jefferson County and impacted portions of southwest Birmingham” in Midfield, the NWS said. That tornado struck a neighborhood near Birmingham’s downtown area. Two neighbors had died in the storm that swept across the southeastern USA earlier this week.

The storms left homes had roofs blown away, vehicles mangled or turned upside down, churches damaged, power lines down, natural gas lines burst, trees toppled and debris strewn across neighbourhoods. The Birmingham tornado reportedly injured several people. No deaths or injuries were reported.

The powerful storms that lashed the southeastern United States this week, at the start of Christmas vacations, left at least 15 people dead, local media reported.

Officials confirmed that 10 people have died from tornadoes and flooding in MS since Wednesday, with six other deaths in Tennessee and one in Arkansas attributed to the storms.

Texas and Oklahoma are also readying for a potentially “historic” blizzard that could bring more than a foot of snow through Monday, according to the National Weather Service. “I just laid down and just kept praying”.

“This is a huge impact on our community and we’re all suffering”, he said. “They really don’t know how to drive in this kind of stuff”.

An additional 56 injuries were reported in Mississippi after heavy flooding, and more than 240 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn. Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flooding possibleHarn says there are no active rescues underway, though first responders continue to search houses for anyone trapped after the storms passed.

The city of Mobile was walloped with 10 centimeters of rain Wednesday (US time), smashing the previous record of 5.6 centimeters set in 1990.

In all at least 14 people were killed in the severe weather. ‘By issuing a State of Emergency, I have directed all state agencies to take necessary actions to be prepared to respond to the anticipated flooding across Alabama.

One woman whose home was damaged told NBC affiliate WVTM that she grabbed her son and said “let’s go” as the storm hit.

Damage assessment teams from the National Weather Service spent the day investigating violent Christmas night weather in Central Alabama.

“‘Many parts of Alabama have experienced excessive rainfall and flooding is a major concern, ‘ Governor Robert Bentley said”.

Among the victims was a 7-year-old boy who perished while riding in a auto that was swept up and tossed by storm winds. A 22-year-old guy who was within the auto remains missing, the station stated.

Northern Alabama, which has been pounded by downpours since Wednesday, was under flood warnings Saturday night. The weather service said that flooding would be experienced in southern Huntsville, Decatur, Madison, Hartselle, Muscle Shoals, Russellville, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, Moulton and Red Bay.