Tornadoes tore through multiple states Wednesday and Thursday, destroying homes and seriously injuring at least two people.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center announced on Wednesday that it was projecting tornadoes in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi. One Alabama resident described using a “human chain” to protect his family from the storm.
“My sister that lived here came over there, pulled up to the basement, blowing the horn. She got out of the car and the tornado, it was pulling her away. So my oldest son Trent went out the door, grabbed a hold of her. It was pulling both of them away. So my youngest son stepped out and grabbed hold of them. It was like a human chain,” the man told ABC’s Victor Oquendo.
The tornado ultimately reached wind speeds of 130 miles per hour, Oquendo reported. However, the tornado did not kill anyone, Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey told CNN. Alabama is considered part of “Dixie Alley,” an area that is heavily susceptible to tornadoes, particularly in the late fall, according to the National Center for Environmental Information. (RELATED: Tornado Leaves At Least One Dead, Twenty Injured In Alabama)
Tornadoes are also expected in North and South Carolina, CNN reported. A tornado killed at least three people and injured at least ten in North Carolina on Feb. 15. At least 76 people were killed by tornadoes in 2020, up from 42 in 2019, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.