Five killed as tornadoes hit northeastern Alabama, Tennessee

A home in the Underwood mountain area of Colbert County, Ala., was destroyed by a suspected tornado. Storms and tornadoes struck the northeastern part of the state Tuesday and Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Colbert County Emergency Management Agency

ROSALIE , Ala., Nov. 30 (UPI) — Thunderstorms and tornadoes struck northeastern Alabama and Tennessee late Tuesday and early Wednesday, killing at least five people, law enforcement officials said.

The storms damaged dozens of structures and focused on Jackson and DeKalb counties in Alabama. Four children and three adults were critically injured when a daycare center, where they sought refuge, near the DeKalb County town of Ider, was destroyed. Anthony Clifton, county emergency management director, said at least 25 homes and several poultry farms were destroyed across the county, NBC News reported Wednesday.

The National Weather Service said three people in the Jackson County community of Rosalie were killed by a suspected tornado. County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Rocky Harmon told NBC News the three died in one home, adding a church and shopping plaza in Rosalie were destroyed. He estimated that up to 25 structures in the county were destroyed by the storms.

The county coroner confirmed the three deaths, as well as multiple injuries, in Rosalie. Two other people died in Tennessee, where the storms hit the southeast portion of the state.

A motel roof was blown off in the Marion County town of Guin, and Alabama Power reported at 4 a.m. Tuesday that at least 3,500 homes were without power. The Colbert County Emergency Management agency reported two people were hospitalized after they were trapped in their collapsed home.

There were reports of missing roofs, severely damaged homes, downed trees and power lines, and street flooding across the area. Most of the incidents were reported to police and emergency officials between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 1 a.m. Wednesday, but at 4:15 a.m., Harman warned that Jackson County was “bracing for another line of storms that should be hitting us at any moment.” An active tornado warning was posted for northeastern Alabama counties of Marshall, Cullman and Morgan, which are located between the cities of Huntsville and Birmingham.

The weather affecting Alabama is part of a band of rainstorms stretching from the Louisiana coast, across Mississippi and Alabama and into Georgia.

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