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At least five people were killed and dozens of other injured after a large tornado was reported in Calhoun County, Alabama, Thursday afternoon.
“There’s numerous homes damaged, numerous people injured, and at least five fatalities,” said Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade.
Seven tornadoes have been reported in Alabama, according to the National Weather Service. And authorities have reported extensive damage in the Birmingham metro area. Forecasters are now concerned that a second wave of storms could bring the possibility of long-track tornadoes across Mississippi and into Alabama overnight into Friday morning.
“We’re worrying about the second storm that’s coming through, possibly on the same track,” Wade said.
The National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Alabama, has issued several tornado emergency warnings throughout the day and the latest for Shelby County, including areas around Columbiana and Wilsonville at 6:30 p.m. ET. NWS said these storms present a potentially significant impact to human life and catastrophic destruction to property.
At least 30 homes or structures have been damaged in Pelham, Alabama, according to a tweet from the local police department.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday issued a state of emergency for 46 counties ahead of the expected severe weather.
A level 4 of 5 risk covers over 5 million people and includes Nashville, Tennessee. More than 30 million people in the southern region of the US, including the Carolinas, remain under threat for severe storms with tornadic storms expected to continue well into Thursday evening.
