At least 23 people, including children, are dead after a tornado roared into southeast Alabama on Sunday, injuring several others.
The tornado was part of a severe storm system that caused catastrophic damage and unleashed other tornadoes around the Southeast.
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“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.
Officials were using drones equipped with heat-seeking devices to scan the area for survivors, although dangerous conditions halted the search late Sunday. “The devastation is incredible,” Jones said.
“We’ve still got people being pulled out of rubble,” Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told AL.com on Sunday. “We’re going to be here all night.”
A ground search was scheduled to resume Monday morning.
The tornado, which was at least half a mile wide, traveled straight down a country road in the rural community of Beauregard. Lee said single-family homes and mobile homes were destroyed and said that some homes were reduced to slabs.
Harris told The Associated Press that he needed to call in help from the state, because there were more bodies than his four-person office could handle.
Although official wind estimates for the F3 tornado are unclear, F3 storms typically pack wind speeds between 158 and 2016 mph, according to the AP.
“It appears it stayed on the ground for at least a mile and maybe longer,” Jones said.
Radar and video evidence showed what looked like a large tornado crossing the area near Beauregard shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Meredith Wyatt said.
About 150 first responders had quickly jumped in to efforts to search the debris after the storm struck, a spokeswoman for the Lee County Emergency Management Agency said. At least one trained canine could be seen with search crews as several ambulances and emergency vehicles converged on the area.
Nearby towns were on alert following the destruction in Lee County. The National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency after one was confirmed near Smiths Station, where Mayor Bubba Copeland told The Weather Channel that at least 12 houses were flattened.
“We have a lot of mobile homes turned upside down,” Copeland told The Weather Channel.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey encouraged the public to use an online database to look for loved ones missing in Lee County.
“Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives in the storms that hit Lee County today,” Ivey tweeted. “Praying for their families & everyone whose homes or businesses were affected. Officials from #AlabamaEma & other agencies are quickly working to provide assistance.”
President Donald Trump sent his condolences late Sunday night. “To the great people of Alabama and surrounding areas: Please be careful and safe,” he tweeted. “Tornadoes and storms were truly violent and more could be coming. To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!”
