A line of destructive tornadoes tore through parts of the Southeastern United States, leaving behind a trail of damage and tragedy. According to weather authorities, the storms spawned several tornadoes across Tennessee, North Carolina and other states in the region. Unfortunately, these intense twisters ended up claiming three lives so far.
The first victim was a 22-year old man in Claiborne County, Tennessee who was in his vehicle when strong winds brought down trees, with one falling on top of his car. In neighbouring Maury County, another individual lost their life after a suspected tornado touched down in the city of Columbia. Local emergency services were stretched thin dealing with injured people and damaged homes. Numerous other tornado warnings were in effect for large parts of the night as the storm system slowly pushed east.
Scenes of devastation were also witnessed in North Carolina, with one tornado directly hitting Gaston County. A car was struck by a falling tree there, killing one of the occupants while the other was rushed to hospital. Forecasters caution that the risk of tornadoes will continue Thursday as well for some southern states. Residents are being advised to closely monitor weather alerts and heed all instructions from local authorities. The powerful storms have already unleashed football field sized hail and wind gusts above 120 kmph, heightening the risk for people who come across these dangerous twisters.
Clearly, the severity of the ongoing severe weather cannot be taken lightly. Emergency crews will have a big clean-up task ahead as the full extent of the tornado damage comes into focus in the coming days. People across the impacted regions are hoping the storms will soon passage and calmer conditions will return once more.
