Five people, including three members of the same family, died Thursday after a tornado hit Alabama, where several regions were declared in a state of emergency, authorities in this southern US state said.
“I call on everyone in the path of these tornadoes … to remain on the alert,” urged Alabama Governor Kay Ivey.
Images of these inclement events circulated on social media, showing flying debris, fallen trees and damaged houses.
In the town of Ohatchee, three people from the same family who were in “a wooden structure” died, as well as another who was in a caravan, Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown told AFP.
One person also died in Wellington, he added.
Calhoun County emergency services had called on locals to “take shelter immediately.”
The Calhoun Sheriff’s Office reported “substantial damage” in Ohatchee and near Wellington.
According to the page poweroutage.us, more than 35,000 Alabama homes were without power by the end of the afternoon.
The bad weather was supposed to continue into the night, according to authorities.
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