At least 23 people have been killed after two tornados struck Alabama on Sunday, including children as young as six. A county sheriff reported “catastrophic” damage to Lee County, and some residents remain missing. Rescue teams searched along the trail of destruction which extended over several miles but had to pause efforts as conditions became too treacherous.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told CNN: “The challenge is the sheer volume of the debris where all the homes were located. It’s the most I’ve seen that I can recall.”
The East Alabama Medical Center reported receiving more than 40 patients due to the tornadoes and expected more to arrive.
Of those who had died as a result of the tornado, county coroner Bill Harris said none of the victims had been formally identified but that he believed the youngest victim was six.
Mr Harris also explained how firetrucks had to be enlisted to transport victims away from the danger zone as ambulances could not access the worst hit areas.
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He also told of how he had to use his paramedic skills at the fire station as they awaited paramedics.
Mr Harris said: “This is a day of destruction for Lee County, we’ve never had a mass-fatality situation that I can remember like this in my lifetime.”
A severe weather system had crossed the US south-east, sparking the tornadoes as it tracked toward the Atlantic seaboard.
Rita Smith, spokeswoman for Lee County Emergency Management Agency said: “We’ve got about 150 first responders out there. They are doing a phenomenal job.
“Sadly, we know that we have two known confirmed fatalities and many, many injuries.”
Ms Smith also said that multiple homes had been destroyed or damaged in Beauregard, Alabama, a community located around 60 miles (95km) east of Montgomery, Alabama’s capital.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a warning classifying the tornado as at least an EF-3, which means it was packing winds of up to 165mph.
The NWS also warned people to “stay out of damaged areas so first responders could do their job”.
Tallahassee office of the weather service meteorologist Don Harrigan said the tornado hit about 5.45pm local time (11.45pm GMT) on Sunday in Walton County and other tornadoes had been confirmed on radar.
These other tornadoes were reported in Geneva County in south-east Alabama, which lies just across the state line from north Florida, as well as in Henry County, Alabama.
Mr Harrigan said a squall line was moving across the south-east and was entering an area of strong, low-level winds conducive to forming tornadoes.
He said the threat of more tornadoes would continue for several hours as the storm system headed toward the Atlantic seaboard.