At least 23 people, some of them children, have been confirmed dead after a tornado tore across the southeastern US state of Alabama. Authorities say they expect the death toll to rise.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/WKRG-TV
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A tornado that ripped through Lee County, Alabama, late Sunday killed more than 20 people, downed phone towers and flattened buildings, officials said.
"Unfortunately our toll, as far as fatalities, does stand at 23 at the current time," Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said of the death toll. A number of people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Lee County coroner Bill Harris said there were children among the dead.
"We've still got people being pulled out of rubble," he said. "We're going to be here all night."
A fallen cell tower blocks the Route 280 highway in Lee CountyImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Haskey
Search put on hold
As night fell, emergency crews were scouring the rubble for those still unaccounted for in the hard-hit community of Beauregard, east of the state capital Montgomery. But they had to call off the search overnight when conditions became too dangerous.
"The challenge is the sheer volume of the debris where all the homes were located," Jones told CNN. "It's the most I've seen that I can recall."
He said the tornado appeared to have traveled right through Beauregard's center, carving a path of destruction at least half a mile (0.8 kilometers) wide.
Authorities in several southeastern states issued tornado warnings on SundayImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/G. Martin
Take cover
Authorities said multiple twisters were unleashed by a vast storm system that moved across several southeastern states on Sunday.
The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for different parts of the region, including Lee County, during the day, urging residents to take cover, move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, and avoid windows.
It said the first twister to hit the county had a wind speed of at least 218 kilometers (135 miles) per hour.
More than 6,000 homes were left without power in Alabama, according to PowerOutage.us, while 16,000 suffered outages in neighboring Georgia.
Rescue workers rushed to parts of Lee County where mobile homes were flattenedImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/WKRG-TV
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey warned residents on Twitter that more severe weather might be on the way.
"Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives in the storms that hit Lee County today," she wrote. "Praying for their families & everyone whose homes or businesses were affected."
She added that she was extending the state of emergency issued last month to deal with flooding.
Arctic temperatures grip US Midwest
Freezing temperatures have taken over the northern United States, causing deaths and disrupting services. In Chicago, the temperature was colder than Alaska's state capital and parts of Antarctica.
Image: Getty Images/S. Olson
Frozen city
Freezing temperatures have gripped the northern United States due to a split in the polar vortex, a mass of cold air that normally stays bottled up in the Arctic. The Wednesday morning temperature in Chicago was -30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) which felt like -46 degrees with the wind chill. It was expected to get down to -33 degrees on Thursday.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/P. Gorski
Delays and cancellations
The weather wreaked havoc on airports and train services. More than 1,800 flights were cancelled at Chicago's two major airports, while rail operator Amtrak cancelled train services from its hub in the city. At Chicago's O'Hare airport, ground crews were told to avoid spending more than 15 minutes at a time exposed to the freezing air, which delayed the lucky flights that managed to take off.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Soderlin
Rugged up
Commuters heading to work in Chicago had to layer up to fend off the cold. "I have two shirts on... I have a hoodie, I have my big winter coat, I have a face mask and a skullcap and I am still cold," sandwich shop manager Daniel Gonzalez said.
Image: Getty Images/S. Olson
Cold turns deadly
The dangerously low temperatures killed several people, including a University of Ohio student, and an 82-year-old man who fell as he approached his front door. "This is a historic cold, obviously," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. "They are life-threatening temperatures, and they should be treated accordingly," he cautioned
Image: Reuters/J. Coffelt
Life goes on
Despite the bitter cold, daily activities have to continue. The outside temperature was -28 degrees at Metogga Lake Dairy on Wednesday and staff started milking 412 cows at 4 o'clock in the morning.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com
Frostbite in seconds
Hundreds of warming centers were opened for vulnerable residents such as seniors. Buses were used as mobile warming spaces, and shelter capacities were increased for the homeless, including the approximately 16,000 living on the streets of Chicago. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as five minutes," the National Weather Service said.
The weather affected other essential services, including the postal system and blood donations. The US Postal Service suspended deliveries in parts of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, the Dakotas and Nebraska. The American Red Cross had to cancel 370 blood drives, which was expected to lead to an estimated 11,600 in uncollected blood donations for the month of January.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. De Sisti
Quick freeze
When temperatures get below around -35 degrees Celsius, water can freeze instantly. Here someone has tried to blow a bubble, but it has swiftly transformed into ice as it met the cold air.
As temperatures dipped, Glenn and Julia Auerbach invited their friends Dan Wilson and Omina Shibahara over to their Minneapolis home for a backyard sauna. The hot room was over 100 degrees warmer than outside.
