Brian Hastings, the director of Alabama’s Emergency Management Agency, brought horrifying estimations after a devastating tornado swept Alabama on Thursday, leaving hundreds of destroyed homes, multiple injuries, and five deaths. Unfortunately, this could only mean the beginning. Southern American states are on alert, as they could be the next ones facing nature’s wrath.
NPR.org brings the tragic information of new tornadoes hitting Alabama, and they were part of a ‘particularly dangerous’ storm system. The storm is considered a ‘super cell’, and it produced multiple tornadoes across counties from central Alabama.
The ‘super cell’ travelled about 100 miles before hitting Alabama
The Newman High School also reported heavy damage caused by the storm. All classes were cancelled, both virtual and in-person.
The storm severely damaged parts of Newnan High School.
Crews tell me they’ve never seen a storm cause this much damage here. @cbs46 pic.twitter.com/xBUV210IGq
— Sabrina Silva (@SabSilv) March 26, 2021
John Samaniego, the Sheriff of Shelby County (Alabama), said:
Today was a tragic day for Shelby County. In the aftermath of these storms, we have seen the best of Shelby County. Neighbours helping neighbours. Businesses and kind citizens reaching out with donations of food and supplies.
More than 26,000 homes from Alabama were reported to be lacking electrical power after the horrifying event, as PowerOutage.Us reveals.
#GOESEast is keeping an eye on the southern U.S., where a major severe weather outbreak is expected today. Here we can see severe thunderstorms producing numerous #lightning strikes, with damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes likely across the region. pic.twitter.com/XKn5yeM3qB
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) March 25, 2021
Georgia also listed 19,000 other homes that remained without electrical energy.
Gov. Kay Ivey issued an emergency declaration, urging all people from Alabama to monitor the weather system closely as it may continue to impact portions of the American state. Those who are in the line of the highest risk storms are especially urged to follow the procedure.
People were also urged to get low and in the middle of the buildings, as waiting until the last minute would be a huge mistake. They must take cover ASAP.
When it comes to absolute tornado counts, the US is on top of the list. The country has an average of more than 1,000 tornadoes that are recorded every year. The American state with the least reported tornadoes remains Alaska.
