Tornadoes Devastate the South

Over the weekend, a total of 17 tornadoes were reported hitting states from Texas to Alabama, the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center Bob Oravec told Reuters.

The National Weather Service said severe storms, damaging wind, and hail hit many areas across the deep South, particularly from Eastern Texas to Western Alabama. There were multiple reports of tornadoes.

At least eight people, including two children from Texas, were killed on Saturday as the weather destroyed parts of the South. Tornadoes tore through homes, and hail and flash floods battered the region, according to The Associated Press.

The Devastation Tornadoes Brought Across the South

Capt. Alton Lenderman of the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office shared details about the tragedy of the children. The children, who were ages 3 and 8, were driving home with their parents on a rural road near Pollok, Texas, about 130 miles northeast of Houston, when a tree fell on their car.

The children, who were in the back seat, were pronounced dead at the scene. Captain Lenderman commented that they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and that “the tree fell as they were going under it.”

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Two people, including a 13-year old, died in floodwaters on Saturday near  Ouachita Parish, according to AP. The teen died during flash flooding in the community of Bawcomville, near Monroe, and was pulled from a drainage canal.

In Hamilton, Mississippi, about 170 miles northeast of Jackson, a man was found dead in his home on Sunday morning according to the Monroe County sheriff, Cecil Cantrell. The man, who was in his late 90’s, was believed to have been asleep when a tree fell on his house.

In Alabama, a county employee was struck by a vehicle early Sunday, as he was helping to clear downed trees near Birmingham.

More than 150,000 customers were without power across five states – Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana — on Sunday morning.