Fallen trees sit near Zoar United Methodist Church that sustained damage to its steeple Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, near Baxley, Georgia. The National Weather Service said Sunday that southern Georgia, northern Florida and the corner of southeastern Alabama could face “intense and long track” tornadoes, scattered damaging winds and large hail. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)
ADEL, Georgia (AP) – Powerful storms kicked up apparent tornadoes and pushed the weekend death toll to 18 people killed and dozens injured as a fast-moving storm system punched through the Southeast for a second day on Sunday, authorities said.
An apparent tornado blew through a mobile home park early Sunday in southern Georgia’s rural Cook County – sheering off siding, upending homes and killing seven people, local authorities said. An eighth death was reported in Cook County by state officials, although it was unclear whether that victim lived in the park.
Coroner Tim Purvis said the tornado “leveled” the park before dawn Sunday and that emergency responders searched for survivors for hours after the twister struck. Purvis said the park had about 40 mobile homes, and roughly half were destroyed. The area was cordoned off by police.
Not far from the mobile home park, 19-year-old Jenny Bullard wore a sling on her injured arm as she combed through the rubble of her family’s brick house. All that remained standing Sunday afternoon was the master bedroom and parts of the kitchen.
“It’s a horrible tragedy,” Bullard said. “But all this stuff can be replaced. We can’t replace each other. We’re extremely lucky.”