Storms tear through US south, leaving at least 30 people dead

[SMILE2NE1 3,566]

Severe weather swept across the southern US on Sunday and Monday, killing at least 30 people and damaging hundreds of homes from Louisiana into the Appalachian mountains.

The storms piled fresh misery atop the coronavirus pandemic, leaving more than a million homes and businesses without power amid floods and mudslides.
In Alabama, people seeking shelter from tornadoes huddled in community shelters, protective masks covering their faces to guard against coronavirus.

Many in several states spent part of the night sheltering in basements, closets and bathtubs as sirens warned of possible tornadoes.

Striking on Easter Sunday across a landscape largely emptied by coronavirus stay-at-home orders, the storm front forced some uncomfortable decisions. In Alabama, where the governor, Kay Ivey, suspended social distancing rules because of the weather threat, people wearing protective masks huddled in storm shelters.

Eleven people were killed in Mississippi, nine died in South Carolina and eight died in north-west Georgia.

Tennessee’s governor, Bill Lee, said two people were killed in Chattanooga, and others died under falling trees or inside collapsed buildings in Arkansas and North Carolina.

The storms caused flooding and mudslides in mountainous areas and knocked out electricity for about 750,000 customers in a 10-state swath ranging from Texas to Georgia and West Virginia, according to poweroutages.us.

In central Georgia a suspected twister lifted a house, mostly intact, and deposited it in the middle of a road. In Louisiana, winds ripped apart a metal airplane hangar.

In Moss, Mississippi, a twister shredded the house, meat-processing business and vehicles of Andrew Phillips, but his family was unscathed after he huddled with his wife and two sons inside a cinder-block “safe room”.

They crowded inside with pillows hours after watching an online Easter service because the pandemic forced their church to halt regular worship. The room was the only thing on their property left standing.

“I’m just going to let the insurance handle it and trust in the good Lord,” said Phillips.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/13/us-storms-latest-flooding-deaths-south-states

[Franch Toast 27,737]

@SamanthaC, how was the storm in your neck of the woods? 

 

[Bloody hooker 6,445]

I didn’t have power for 36 hours. The wind started to pick up really bad and caused trees to fall down throughout the area. It was a mess. 

[KindnessPunk28 1,506]

An EF-1 tornado with 110 mph winds (1 mph away from a cat 3 hurricane!!) blew through part of the county I grew up in yesterday morning in NC. Thankfully no one was hurt and it did not sweep through my hometown. 

[SharkmanthaC 115,047]

11 minutes ago, Franch Toast said:

@SamanthaC, how was the storm in your neck of the woods? 

 

It was rough.  We had lots of tornado warnings.  Confirmed an EF1 not far from me.  I believe another one at the coast.  My husband had to leave at 6am (he usually leaves about 9am) because his work called him in.  There was a tornado warning for the city he works in, so he basically left while there was a warning out.  He wasn't able to find any damage or anything with that though (thankfully).  I think we were very fortunate considering how bad that storm system was. 

[SharkmanthaC 115,047]

1 minute ago, KindnessPunk28 said:

An EF-1 tornado with 110 mph winds (1 mph away from a cat 3 hurricane!!) blew through part of the county I grew up in yesterday morning in NC. Thankfully no one was hurt and it did not sweep through my hometown. 

I would say the county, but you may not want me to say that on here.  I'm in Greensboro, but used to live like 5 miles from where that tornado hit. Are you still in NC?! 

[KindnessPunk28 1,506]

1 minute ago, SamanthaC said:

I would say the county, but you may not want me to say that on here.  I'm in Greensboro, but used to live like 5 miles from where that tornado hit. Are you still in NC?! 

I grew up in Onslow County. I've been living in Orlando since June 2015. 

[weed 78,959]

I'm in North Carolina and the wind was insane, I thought my window was gonna break off bc I had it literally 1cm open but it was shaking so bad and it was just crazy.

There was this bird nest outside my house, and there were 5 baby birds before but after the storm only 4  I was so sad, spent forever looking for the missing bird

[SharkmanthaC 115,047]

1 minute ago, KindnessPunk28 said:

I grew up in Onslow County. I've been living in Orlando since June 2015. 

Ok! That's the one that was towards the coast.  Looks like it didn't cause a crazy amount of damage.  There was also one in Alamance County, which destroyed someone's house.  I grew up in Wayne County so close to that area.  

[SharkmanthaC 115,047]

2 minutes ago, weed said:

I'm in North Carolina and the wind was insane, I thought my window was gonna break off bc I had it literally 1cm open but it was shaking so bad and it was just crazy.

There was this bird nest outside my house, and there were 5 baby birds before but after the storm only 4  I was so sad, spent forever looking for the missing bird

NC monsters unite!  And that wind was awful. 

[ADVENTURE 856]

2 minutes ago, weed said:

There was this bird nest outside my house, and there were 5 baby birds before but after the storm only 4  I was so sad, spent forever looking for the missing bird

That’s so sad  

[Franch Toast 27,737]

Glad you're all okay, but I'm sad about that missing baby bird @weed. 

[KindnessPunk28 1,506]

3 minutes ago, SamanthaC said:

Ok! That's the one that was towards the coast.  Looks like it didn't cause a crazy amount of damage.  There was also one in Alamance County, which destroyed someone's house.  I grew up in Wayne County so close to that area.  

I remember going to Goldsboro  as a kid and my sister went to UMO so I've spent quite a few times in good ole Wayne County 

[half psychotic 79]

It was super windy/rainy here in NC. Kept hearing banging against my wall from outside and my house was making all kinds of creaking sounds from the strong wind. Freaked me out. I've never been in the path of a tornado but they terrify me. Apparently a tornado took out a hog farm here in Onslow County but thankfully no one was injured. 

[INNA 3,788]

I live in Chattanooga and the winds were really intense, lots of downed trees near me and the power was off for about a day. Luckily we didn’t suffer any damage at my house, but when power and cell signal finally returned yesterday I found out how bad it really was here, several of the boroughs near us got wrecked and will be without power for a week they’re saying. It just all feels so dark sided with the pandemic also happening. I worry for the future regarding storms and natural disasters. We’re getting wake up call after wake up call this year.