South and Midwest Rocked by Tornados, 2 Killed
As severe storms and tornadoes rocked parts of the South and Midwest people were rushing for safety as others waited the storm out as best they could.
Reports state that at least two people have died in the area around Birmingham, Ala., after there were tornado warnings issued in a handful of states early Monday morning.
Some of the regions hit by the storms, which was part of a weather system which spanned from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico, were also battered by an outbreak of severe storms that moved through the area last April.
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Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said a 16-year-old girl was killed in Clay and an 82-year-old man died in the community of Oak Grove.
The storm reportedly spawned a tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville, Christian said.
"Some roads are impassable, there are a number of county roads where you have either debris down, trees down, damage from homes," said Yasamie Richardson, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.
There were other reports of possible tornadoes in Arkansas, Dallas, Lonoke, Prairie and Cleveland counties Sunday night. The storms also brought hail and strong winds as they moved through parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois and Mississippi.
Stevie Sanders, 26, made it through the storms with her parents and sister as they found refuge in the laundry room of their brick house.
"You could feel the walls shaking and you could hear a loud crash. After that it got quiet, and the tree had fallen through my sister's roof," said Sanders, according to AP.
Her father, Greg Sanders, was thankful everyone was alright, "It could have been so much worse," he said. "It's like they say, we were just blessed."
