Breaking News Emails
President Donald Trump will visit Alabama on Friday in the wake of the tornadoes that tore through the region over the weekend killing at least 23.
Several tornadoes hit parts of eastern Alabama on Sunday afternoon, including a "monster tornado," which reached an estimated wind speed of 170 mph — an EF4, according to Chris Darden of the National Weather Service.
At least four children, ages 6, 8, 9 and 10, were among the dead.
Seven of the people killed were part of one family who lived in different homes on the same road in the community of Beauregard, according to the Lee County Coroner.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said Tuesday that an additional seven or eight people were still unaccounted for. "Hopefully, that number will continue to decrease as the day goes on," Jones said.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency Monday, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency also responded.
"FEMA has been told directly by me to give the A Plus treatment to the Great State of Alabama and the wonderful people who have been so devastated by the Tornadoes," Trump tweeted Monday.
Experts have estimated that the largest tornado was about a mile wide and at least 24 miles long, though that estimate could increase as surveyors examine the storm's track across the Georgia border, according to Darden.
The Lee County Emergency Management Agency said the worst of the damage was near Beauregard. Jones said a trail of intense destruction spanned about a mile and a half wide and a mile long.
