BEAUREGARD, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on the tornado that killed more than 20 people in Alabama (all times local):
2:40 p.m.
Rescue crews are using dogs and heat-detecting drones to search for victims of a tornado that’s blamed for killing at least 23 people in southeast Alabama.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told a news conference Monday that dozens are still missing a day after the giant twister hit the rural Beauregard community, leaving a path of destruction nearly a mile wide.
Jones said search crews were “basically using everything we can get our hands on” to comb through wreckage and debris. That includes dogs brought in from across Alabama and neighboring states as well as drones equipped with “infrared capability to detect heat signatures.”
Jones says the hardest-hit areas have been checked, but the searches are far from over.
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1:40 p.m.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey says President Donald Trump called her cellphone to offer help after deadly tornadoes struck her state and killed at least 23 people.
At a Monday news conference, Ivey said Trump called her around 8:15 a.m. She said he told her, “of course you’ve got my support.” Trump has told the Federal Emergency Management Agency to give Alabama “the A Plus treatment.”
Addressing storm victims in one hard-hit county, Ivey said, “I want you to know I’ve got your back. We will do everything in our power to help the citizens of Lee County recover.”
She added, “So to the people of Lee County, please know we are here today to stand with you today, tomorrow and in the weeks ahead. We will stand together and get through this together.”
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1:35 p.m.
A coroner says at least three children are among the 23 dead after at least one tornado devastated part of Alabama.
Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said at a Monday afternoon news conference that the children killed were ages 6, 9, and 10. Harris didn’t give other details about them.
Harris said all but six of the people killed in the storm have been identified, and his office soon will begin contacting families about funeral homes and arrangements.
Harris warned that the overall death toll could still increase as searches continue.
Sheriff Jay Jones said search crews are still checking addresses of people who have been reported missing. He would not give a number for how many are still missing, but said: “I would say dozens.”
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1:30 p.m.
An Alabama sheriff says the death toll in an area hit hard by at least one tornado remains unchanged at 23, but officials haven’t completed their searches.
At a Monday afternoon news conference, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said: “I am pleased to report we have not recovered any further victims from the areas we have initially searched. But I want to offer the caveat that we have not completed our searches.”
Officials have said some of the 23 killed were children.
It was the deadliest day of tornadoes in the U.S. in nearly six years.
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1:25 p.m.
A National Weather Service official says a tornado that struck southeastern Alabama was an EF4 twister with wind speeds estimated at 170 mph (274 kph).
Meteorologist Chris Darden said at a Monday news conference that the Sunday storm had a path nearly 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide, and 24 miles (39 kilometers) long, stretching toward Georgia. He said officials on both sides of the state line are surveying the severe storm’s damage.
Darden said it was one of several tornadoes that struck southeastern Alabama. He said one in was Macon County. He also said there also was damage from an EF1 storm in Barbour County.
The Sunday tornadoes were part of a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
Devastating winds destroyed homes and killed at least 23 people.
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12:15 p.m.
Friends in eastern Alabama are helping tornado survivors retrieve the scattered pieces of their lives after devastating winds destroyed their homes and killed at least 23 people.
In Beauregard, Dax Leandro was helping clean up his buddy’s mom’s property Monday. Two structures there were obliterated, including the family’s house.
Debris from the home was scattered in surrounding trees. Leandro was helping look for anything of value to give back to the family.
He said some who were inside the house ended up “hundreds of yards away” beneath rubble and yet survived.
The Sunday tornado was part of a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
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12 p.m.
President Donald Trump says the nation mourns the loss of those who died in a tornado that rampaged through southeast Alabama, killing at least 23 people.
Trump says Monday the country is “sending our love and prayers to the incredible people of Alabama.”
Trump says he has talked to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and promised that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help with recovery efforts and that “whatever we can do, we’re doing.”
The Sunday tornado was part of a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
Trump commented on the storm before honoring the North Dakota State University football team at a White House ceremony.
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10:10 a.m.
In a tweet, President Donald Trump says he’s told the Federal Emergency Management Agency to give Alabama “the A Plus treatment” as the state responds to a deadly tornado that’s killed at least 23 people there.
Trump says Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has also been informed and is working closely with FEMA and with him.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told reporters Monday morning that children are among the dead and the death toll may rise as first responders search the area.
The Sunday tornado was part of a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
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7:45 a.m.
A sheriff says the death toll may rise as first responders search the area where a tornado killed at least 23 people in southeastern Alabama.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told reporters Monday morning that crews are committed to finding everyone reported missing or possibly trapped in the rubble.
More than one child died in the storm, but Jones said he didn’t know the exact number.
Jones said most of the victims have been identified, but officials are waiting until relatives are notified before releasing their names.
The Sunday tornado was part of a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
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7 a.m.
About 150 people hunkered down together in a Baptist church and sang songs as deadly storms moved through the Southeast.
The State newspaper quotes staff members of the Red Bank Baptist Church in Lexington County, South Carolina, as saying that children sang “Jesus Loves Me” during a regular Sunday night service as storms moved through the central part of the state.
One said the group moved from the sanctuary to a long hall during the storm, which knocked a column down in the front of the building and damaged another.
Derrec Becker with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said no deaths or serious injuries have been reported in the state because of the storms.
About 8,000 lost power. A strong tornado that was part of the storm system tore through southeast Alabama on Sunday, killing at least 23 people.
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5 a.m.
Authorities plan to resume an intense ground search Monday amid devastation from a deadly tornado that rampaged through southeast Alabama, killing at least 23 people.
The Sunday tornado was part of a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
The number of deaths in hard-hit Lee County was so high that coroner Bill Harris told The Associated Press he had to call in help from the state because there were more bodies than his four-person office can handle.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones says drones flying overheard equipped with heat-seeking devices had scanned the area for survivors but the dangerous conditions halted the search late Sunday.
Jones said the twister traveled straight down a county road in the rural community of Beauregard.---
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At least 23 dead as tornadoes, severe storms ravage South
BEAUREGARD, Ala. (AP) — A tornado roared into southeast Alabama and killed at least 23 people and injured several others Sunday, part of a severe storm system that caused catastrophic damage and unleashed other tornadoes around the Southeast.
“Unfortunately our toll, as far as fatalities, does stand at 23 at the current time,” Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told WRBL-TV of the death toll. He added that two people were in intensive care.
Drones flying overheard equipped with heat-seeking devices had scanned the area for survivors but the dangerous conditions halted the search late Sunday, Jones said. “The devastation is incredible,” he said. An intense ground search would resume Monday morning.
Jones said the twister traveled straight down a county road in the rural community of Beauregard and that the path of damage and destruction appeared at least a half mile wide. He said single-family homes and mobile homes were destroyed, adding some homes were reduced to slabs. He had told reporters earlier that several people were taken to hospitals, some with “very serious injuries.”
Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told The Associated Press that he had to call in help from the state, because there were more bodies than his four-person office can handle.
The National Weather Service confirmed late Sunday a tornado with at least an F3 rating and a track at least half a mile (.8 kilometers) wide caused the deadly destruction in Alabama. Although the statement did not give exact wind estimates, F3 storms typically are gauged at wind speeds of between 158-206 mph (254-331 kilometers per hour).
Dozens of emergency responders rushed to join search and rescue efforts in hard-hit Lee County after what forecasters said they think was a large tornado touched down Sunday afternoon, unleashed by a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
Radar and video evidence showed what looked like a large tornado crossing the area near Beauregard shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday, said meteorologist Meredith Wyatt with the Birmingham office of the National Weather Service.
“It appears it stayed on the ground for at least a mile and maybe longer,” Jones told the AP.
After nightfall Sunday, the rain had stopped and pieces of metal debris and tree branches littered roadways in Beauregard. Two sheriff’s vehicles blocked reporters and others from reaching the worst-hit area. Power appeared to be out in many places.
President Donald Trump tweeted late Sunday, “To the great people of Alabama and surrounding areas: Please be careful and safe. ... To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!”
Rita Smith, spokeswoman for the Lee County Emergency Management Agency, said about 150 first responders had quickly jumped in to efforts to search the debris after the storm struck in Beauregard. At least one trained canine could be seen with search crews as numerous ambulances and emergency vehicles, lights flashing, converged on the area.
No deaths had been reported Sunday evening from storm-damaged Alabama counties outside Lee County, said Gregory Robinson, spokesman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. But he said crews were still surveying damage in several counties in the southwestern part of the state.
Numerous tornado warnings were posted across parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina on Sunday afternoon as the powerful storm system raced across the region. Weather officials said they confirmed other tornadoes around the region by radar alone and would send teams out early Monday to assess those and other storms.
In rural Talbotton, Georgia, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Atlanta, a handful of people were injured by either powerful straight-line winds or a tornado that destroyed several mobile homes and damaged other buildings, said Leigh Ann Erenheim, director of the Talbot County Emergency Management Agency.
Televised broadcast news footage showed smashed buildings with rooftops blown away, cars overturned and debris everywhere. Trees all around had been snapped bare of branches.
“The last check I had was between six and eight injuries,” Erenheim said in a phone interview. “From what I understand it was minor injuries, though one fellow did say his leg might be broken.”
She said searches of damaged homes and structures had turned up no serious injuries or deaths there.
Henry Wilson of the Peach County Emergency Management Agency near Macon in central Georgia said a barn had been destroyed and trees and power poles had been snapped, leaving many in the area without power.
Authorities in southwest Georgia are searching door-to-door in darkened neighborhoods after a possible tornado touched down in the rural city of Cairo, about 33 miles (53 kilometers) north of Tallahassee, Florida, on Sunday evening. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
Authorities said a tornado was confirmed by radar in the Florida Panhandle late Sunday afternoon. A portion of Interstate 10 on the Panhandle was blocked in one direction for a time in Walton County in the aftermath, said Don Harrigan, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.
“There’s a squall line moving through the area,” Harrigan told AP. “And when you have a mature line of storms moving into an area where low level winds are very strong, you tend to have tornadoes developing. It’s a favorable environment for tornados.”
The threat of severe weather continued into the late-night hours. A tornado watch was in effect for much of eastern Georgia, including Athens, Augusta and Savannah. The tornado watch also covered a large area of South Carolina, including the cities of Charleston and Columbia.
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Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, Bill Cormier in Atlanta, and Ryan Kryska in New York contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to show that the twister traveled down a county road in the rural community of Beauregard, not a main artery.
