At least 23 dead as major tornado devastates East Alabama

(Lee County, AL) — At least 23 have died from a tornado that tore through Lee County in eastern Alabama Sunday afternoon according to Coroner Bill Harris.

The presumed tornado was part of a severe storm system that caused catastrophic damage and unleashed other tornadoes around the Southeast.

Dozens were injured, according to officials of area hospitals. Jones said some of the injuries were “very serious.” A state of emergency was in effect statewide.

Jones told WRBL-TV the twister traveled straight down a county road in the rural community of Beauregard and that the path of damage and destruction appeared at least a half-mile wide. He said single-family homes and mobile homes were destroyed, and some homes were reduced to slabs.

Multiple homes were destroyed or damaged in Beauregard, about 60 miles east of Montgomery, Rita Smith, a spokesperson for the Lee County Emergency Management Agency, told The Associated Press.

Several tornado warnings were posted across parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina on Sunday afternoon as the powerful storm system raced across the region.

In rural Talbotton, Georgia, a handful of people were injured by either powerful straight-line winds or a tornado that destroyed several mobile homes and damaged other buildings, said Leigh Ann Erenheim, director of the Talbot County Emergency Management Agency.