Death toll rises after tornadoes hit southern US
There were at least 45 reports of tornado damage across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, meteorologists said.
A strong storm system moved across the southern US over the weekend, spawning tornadoes and killing at least four people.
There were at least 45 reports of tornado damage across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Centre. Crews will do damage surveys to confirm tornadoes.
The storms during busy holiday travel caused some treacherous road conditions along with delays or cancellations at some of the busiest US airports.
“It’s not unheard of, but it is fairly uncommon to have a severe weather outbreak of this magnitude this late in the year,” said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Centre.
In the Houston area, National Weather Service storm survey crews confirmed that at least five tornadoes hit north and south of the city on Saturday.
At least one person died. The 48-year-old woman was found about 100 feet (30 metres) from her home in the Liverpool area south of Houston, said Madison Polston of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office. She said the exact cause of death was not immediately known.
Four other people in Brazoria County had injuries that were not considered critical, said Mr Polston, adding that at least 40 homes and buildings were significantly damaged.
In Montgomery County, north of Houston, about 30 homes were destroyed and about 50 others sustained major damage, county official Jason Smith said.
In North Carolina, a 70-year-old man was killed on Sunday in Statesville, just north of Charlotte, when a tree landed on the pickup truck he was driving. Highway Patrol trooper DJ Maffucci said “it was just a freak accident” and he believed Matthew Teeple, of Cleveland, North Carolina, was killed instantly.
“It’s very sad, just terrible timing,” Mr Maffucci said, adding that the storms were responsible for a number of fallen trees and “quite a few wrecks”.
Two people were killed in storms in Mississippi, officials said. An 18-year-old died after a tree fell on her home on Saturday night in Natchez in Adams County, said Emergency Management spokesperson Neifa Hardy. Two other people in the home were injured.
Another person died in Lowndes County and at least eight more were injured across the state, officials said.
The National Weather Service said two tornadoes hit around Bude and the city of Brandon, ripping roofs from several buildings.
Storm damage also was reported in the northern Alabama city of Athens, northwest of Huntsville.
By Sunday afternoon, more than 40,000 people were still without power in Mississippi, according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us. Texas, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia each had about 10,000 customers without power, it said.
