The United States’ Southeast part was hit by severe weather system, a reported tornado that caused widespread destruction and killed at least 18 people over the weekend as reported by the authorities.
Georgia’s Dougherty County has confirmed the three deaths on Sunday evening and the rescue operations are underway. Before the three latest deaths were confirmed, Georgia officials had reported 12 deaths state wide. Four died Saturday in Mississippi.
Sheering off siding, upending homes and killing seven people, the tornado blew through a mobile home park early on Sunday in southern Georgia’s rural Cook County. Newly elected President, Mr. Donald Trump said that he had spoken with Georgia governor Nathan Deal and “expressed our sincere condolences for the lives taken.”
Several homes appeared to be destroyed along on a road within about two miles of the mobile home park, with cinderblocks scattered on the ground, and pine trees uprooted and snapped in half. The tops of broken utility poles lay alongside the road.
A state of emergency was declared by Georgia’s governor in seven southern Georgia counties.
The National Weather Service said southern Georgia, northern Florida and the corner of south-eastern Alabama all faced severe weather threats this Sunday. According to the weather specialists, the possibility of long track tornadoes, somewhat rare and capable of staying on the ground for 20 or more miles, were possible.
January tornado outbreaks are rare but not unprecedented, particularly in the South. Data from the Storm Prediction Centre shows that, over the past decade, the nation has seen an average 38 tornadoes in January, ranging from a high of 84 in 2008 to just four in 2014.
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