At least 1 killed, nearly 30 injured after large tornado in Alabama
(CNN) — At least one person is dead and dozens injured amid a trail of destruction after a tornado described as “large and extremely dangerous” tore through the Birmingham, Alabama, area.
The twister ripped through a hotel Monday night and tore off part of a church’s roof.
About 30 people in Fultondale were injured, the city’s fire chief said Tuesday morning.
“Seventeen patients were tak(en) to the ER, with various injuries and some critical,” Fire Chief Justin McKenzie said. At least 11 people were treated on the scene.
Power lines fell on Interstate 65, causing accidents, he said.
One person was killed and several injured when they were trapped in the basement of their home, Fultondale Police Chief D.P. Smith said, according to AL.com.
Tornado warnings and watches have expired in parts of Alabama and Georgia.
The tornado spawned from a line of storms among two large systems that have put more than 100 million people under winter weather alerts.
The Hampton Inn in Fultondale, just north of Birmingham, sustained significant damage, video from CNN affiliate WVTM shows.
Guests staying at the hotel escaped the building and sought shelter in a nearby restaurant when another line of storms came through, the affiliate reported. About 9,000 people live in the city.
National Weather Service Birmingham early Tuesday was monitoring reports “after a tornado impacted the Fultondale area of Jefferson Co. a short time ago,” it tweeted.
“Significant damage has been reported. We will inspect the damage to determine the strength of the tornado,” the office said.
The agency at 10:54 p.m. local time had “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado was located over Chalkville, or near Trussville, moving east at 50 mph,” it tweeted.
The city of Center Point, about 13 miles northeast of Birmingham, also saw “quite a bit of damage” from the storm, Mayor Bobby Scott told CNN affiliate WBRC. About 16,000 people live there.
The back half of Hilldale Baptist Church’s roof is missing, and the city’s recreation center also suffered damage, Scott said.
“Looks like we will have a long day ahead of us tomorrow,” Scott said. “Hopefully we can get everything covered up.”
“We don’t have any injuries to report right now, so we’re definitely grateful for that,” the mayor added.
People should stay out of the area as first responders try to reach the most damaged sites, the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency urged.
“On top of road dangers such as power lines and debris … traffic is clogging the roads,” the agency tweeted.
Eleven schools in the area will be closed for in-person and virtual learning Tuesday following the storm, Jefferson County EMA said on Twitter.
A tornado warning was issued Monday night for Jefferson County, Alabama, NWS Birmingham tweeted. The agency later issued tornado warnings and watches for several counties as the line of storms moved northeast through the state.
The storm system is expected to dump significant snow from the Central Plains to the mid-Atlantic Coast through Tuesday night. The deepest snow will pile up across Iowa. Some snow will be very heavy, with rates of up to 2 inches an hour, says the Weather Prediction Center.