A major storm system sweeping across the South on Thursday has killed at least seven people as it unleashed a series of tornadoes on Alabama, where it caused significant damage and left a trail of destruction.
The latest: Butts County Coroner Lacey Prue said a tree fell on a vehicle during a severe storm in Jackson, Georgia, and killed a passenger inside, per AP. The local sheriff's office told Atlanta News First the passenger was a 6-year-old girl.
The big picture: The sheriff of Autauga County, Alabama, said Thursday evening the severe weather led to six deaths in the county, WSFA reports. County coroner Buster Barber told CNN authorities were "still searching for bodies."
- Up to 50 residences in the county were damaged or destroyed as a result of the tornado, per AP.
- This region was in an "Enhanced" risk area for severe weather Thursday, or level 3 out of 5 on the Storm Prediction Center's risk scale.
- Several tornadoes touched down briefly in Georgia on Thursday.
By the numbers: Over 25 tornados had been reported, according to the National Weather Service's (NWS) Storm Prediction Center. More than 30 million people were at risk of thunderstorm winds.
- Debris detected by radars was launched about 20,000 feet into the air.
Of note: The severe weather has led to massive power outages. As of 1:30am ET, over 35,100 customers in Georgia were without power, nearly 25,600 in Alabama and nearly 8,900 in North Carolina, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.
- Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) declared a state of emergency for six counties on Thursday: Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa.
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in response to the storms and tornadoes and tweeted that he had "ordered all relevant agencies to respond with an all-hands-on-deck approach to the affected communities."
State of play: Some of the worst damage occurred in Selma, where a large and violent tornado tore down power lines and trees, flipped over cars and demolished entire buildings, local officials said at a news conference Thursday evening.
- "So far we’ve had no fatalities locally; we’ve had some injuries, but no fatalities," Selma Mayor James Perkins said.
- Perkins told WFSA that at least one person was believed to have been trapped in a building while possibly one other person was missing.
- The city, a cornerstone of the civil rights movement, was enforcing a curfew Thursday night from dawn to dusk.
What they're saying: "I am sad to have learned that six Alabamians were lost to the storms that ravaged across our state," Ivey tweeted Thursday night. "My prayers are with their loved ones and communities. We are far too familiar with devastating weather, but our people are resilient."
- Kemp responded to the child's death by tweeting, "Our entire family is heartbroken over this tragedy. As we continue to monitor state response to these storms, we are praying for this family as they mourn this terrible loss."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.
