At least 23 dead in Alabama tornado, toll expected to rise
ALABAMA: At least 23 people, some of them children, died after a tornado swept through the US state of Alabama on Sunday, and the death toll was expected to rise as rescuers searched through the rubble of destroyed homes, authorities said.
Emergency workers faced a grim night of pulling the dead and injured from the wreckage of homes and businesses in Lee County, which includes Auburn, Alabama's largest city.
"The challenge is the sheer volume of the debris where all the homes were located," Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said in an interview with CNN. "It's the most I've seen that I can recall."
Storms, including at least one apparent tornado, uprooted trees and destroyed homes in neighbouring Georgia, initially knocking out power to 21,000 customers, said Georgia Power spokesman Meredith Stone.
On Twitter, US President Donald Trump urged residents of Alabama and other areas affected by the storms to be "careful and safe".
"Tornadoes and storms were truly violent and more could be coming," Mr Trump wrote. "To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!"
Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said the death toll could rise. "We've still got people being pulled out of rubble," he told the Birmingham News newspaper on Sunday evening. - REUTERS
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