BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A possible tornado overturned multiple mobile homes in a south Alabama community as severe storms swept through the region Friday morning, authorities said.
Escambia County Sheriff Heath Jackson told WALA-TV that about nine mobile homes were destroyed and two people were taken by ambulance to the hospital. No deaths were reported.
“We had one guy that was in his mobile home when the storm hit. He was asleep. He said when he woke up, he was in the woods. So, you know, obviously the good lord was looking out for him,” Jackson told the station.
Jackson said all people have been accounted for but the damage is substantial.
“It’s devastating, and those people have nothing left. We are so thankful that nobody was killed or severely injured,” Jackson said.
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David Adams, the director of the Escambia County Emergency Management Agency, said it is unclear if the damage was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds. The National Weather Service will send a team to evaluate, he said.
The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings for south Alabama, but Adams said there was not one in effect for the area at the time.
The storms left more than 13,000 homes and businesses in the dark in Alabama and flash flooding was reported south of Birmingham, where heavy rains that left downtown streets under water were blamed for one death Wednesday. More rain was expected, along with wind gusts as strong as 60 mph (97 km/h), hail and possibly tornadoes.
A tornado watch covered southern counties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, plus the western tip of the Florida Panhandle. More than a dozen school systems in the area canceled classes, extracurricular activities or switched to virtual teaching for the day because of the weather threat.
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