Tornadoes rip through US state of Alabama leaving at least five dead and tearing airplanes apart ‘like toys’

1/11
Michael Howie26 March 2021

A string of tornadoes have torn across the US Deep South leaving at least five people dead amid ruins of wreaked homes and businesses.

One fierce twister travelled about 100 miles across Alabama, leaving a long path of damage.

The tornadoes tore across the state and into Georgia today, knocking power out to tens of thousands. 

The National Weather Service for Atlanta said a “dangerous, fast moving” tornado ripped through some of the metro’s southern suburbs just after midnight.

Alabama appeared to bear the brunt with as many as eight twisters hitting the state at the onset of the dreaded spring tornado season.

But forecasters also warned of dangerous thunderstorms, flash floods and possible twisters from eastern Mississippi into western Georgia, and northward into Tennessee and Kentucky.

Also, flash flood warnings and watches extended to the western Carolinas.

The deaths were confirmed in Calhoun County, in east Alabama, where one of multiple twisters sprang from a “super cell” of storms.

Damage is seen to a home after a tornado passed through the Eagle Point, near Birmingham
AP

Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade said the tornado cut a diagonal path across the county, striking mostly rural areas - something that likely kept the death toll from being higher.

“Five people lost their lives and for those families, it will never be the same,” Mr Wade said at an evening briefing.

“Our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers go to the families, and we are going to do our best to let them know we love them.”

Further west, vast areas of Shelby County near Birmingham - the state’s biggest city - were badly damaged.

Civilian drone footage posted on social media showed rooftops cleaved away from stately homes, the winds destroying some while leaving others untouched.

In the city of Pelham, James Dunaway said he initially ignored the tornado warning when it came over his phone.

But then he heard the twister approaching, left the upstairs bedroom where he had been watching television and entered a hallway - just before the storm blew off the roof and sides of his house. His bedroom was left fully exposed.

“I’m very lucky to be alive,” Dunaway, 75, told Al.com.

Pelham authorities posted video of large trees blocking roads and utility poles leaning menacingly over debris-littered streets.

Firefighters survey damage to a house where a family was briefly trapped by a tornado
AP

Firefighters outside a flattened home in the Eagle Point subdivision, also in Shelby County, said the family that lived there made it out alive.

Nearby homes were roofless or missing their second stories.

Mike Oakley, mayor of the western city of Centreville, told ABC 33/40 news that a local airport was hit.

“We have airplanes torn apart like toys. We’ve got homes along here that are totally destroyed, trees down, power lines down. It’s pretty devastating.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in