Tornadoes Kill Several People Across The South Leaving 1.3 Million Without Power
At least 20 people have been killed after tornadoes started ripping through the South on Easter, destroying homes and stores and leaving over 1 million people without power.
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The tornadoes and severe weather struck Central Texas early Sunday, bringing “gigantic” hail and heavy wind while traveling east through Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. As CNBC reports, eleven people were killed in Mississippi, and six more died in northwest Georgia. Two other bodies were pulled from damaged homes in Arkansas and South Carolina.
The National Weather Service tallied hundreds of reports of trees down across the region, including many that went through roofs and downed power lines. Meanwhile, Meteorologists warned the mid-Atlantic states to prepare for potential tornadoes, wind, and hail this Monday.
These tornadoes come in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, Mississippi officials said the tornadoes’ threat to the community trumped that of COVID-19, forcing locals to flee their homes for safer shelters:
“That’s always an issue – we emphasized to everyone that if they went into a shelter they had to maintain hygiene, wash their hands and use sanitizer and use masks but at the end of the day, life safety had to persist over everything else and the greater risk of the tornado overcame COVID,” Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Greg Michel said to Good Morning America on Monday.
While speaking on the risk of coronavirus in shelters he said, “it’s still a concern but we’ve got folks who live in rural areas – shelters were the only option they had.”
Officials say the death toll is expected to go up.
Press Play Below For An Earlier Report On The Tornadoes:
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