MNA International Desk: A dangerous weekend weather system has killed at least 18 people in the US South, as Georgia officials on Sunday reported more than a dozen deaths after severe storms and tornadoes buffeted several states.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared an emergency for seven counties in the south-central part of the state, warning that dangerous conditions persisted and could reach north to the Atlanta area.
“I urge all Georgians to exercise caution and vigilance in order to remain safe and prevent further loss of life or injuries,” Deal said in a news release.
Seven deaths occurred in Cook County, Georgia, state emergency managers said in a statement, with local reports that a mobile home park was particularly hard hit. Officials earlier reported eight deaths in the county.
First Baptist Church Adel, located in the county seat near the Florida-Georgia state line, was sheltering more than 50 people, said pastor Bill Marlette, who had just helped inform a family that two of their relatives were among the dead.
“There’s a lot of hurting people right now,” he said in a telephone interview. “There’s just a sense of shock.”
The storms in Georgia, which killed a total of 14 people, followed a predawn tornado in Mississippi on Saturday that killed four people. Severe weather also injured more than 50 others and damaged about 480 homes in Mississippi, state officials said on Sunday.
In Georgia, most of the storms had moved on by Sunday night, with a few still threatening coastal areas, said Mark McKinnon, a spokesman for the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.