Trump Sends Passionate Message to Alabama After Sheriff Confirms at Least 23 Dead from Horrific Tornado
After storms pummeled the southeastern United States on Sunday, leaving at least 23 people dead in Alabama due to at least one tornado, President Donald Trump reminded those recovering from devastation that they were not alone.
“To the great people of Alabama and surrounding areas: Please be careful and safe. Tornadoes and storms were truly violent and more could be coming. To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!” Trump tweeted Sunday night.
To the great people of Alabama and surrounding areas: Please be careful and safe. Tornadoes and storms were truly violent and more could be coming. To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2019
As of Monday morning, the death toll in Lee County, Alabama, stood at 23, according to Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, who said the toll may rise once all missing individuals are accounted for, ABC reported. Jones said the tornado devastated the town of Beauregard.
“Homes completely destroyed, nothing left but the slabs — concrete slabs that they existed on,” Jones said Monday, calling the damage “catastrophic.”
In describing the damage, Jones said it appeared “as if someone had taken a blade and just scraped the ground,” CNN reported.
JUST IN: The Death Toll Is Now 23 People In The Possible F-3 Tornado in Lee County, Alabama Today.
Sending Prayers ?#Tornadoes#PrayForAlabama pic.twitter.com/0c8VGZs57x— ~Marietta (@iMariettaDavis) March 4, 2019
Although drones with heat-seeking equipment looked for survivors overnight, rescuers were hitting the ground in the morning, Jones said.
“We’re going to concentrate on the areas that had the most damage,” Jones said. “We still have some individuals that are unaccounted for, and that’s where we’re going to begin our search this morning.”
Jones said he could not recall “at least in the last 50 years … a situation where we have had this loss of life that we experienced today,” CBS reported.
“I cannot recall, at least in the last 50 years, and longer than that, a situation where we have had this type, this loss of life that we experienced today,” said the sheriff of Lee County, Alabama, of the possible tornado that hit the area. https://t.co/fzH4wCp3Y0 pic.twitter.com/uJql6MaLD6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 4, 2019
Dog rescued from Tornado damage in Beauregard, AL. #ALwx
Credit: CBS17 pic.twitter.com/rgrE94hDKG
— Storm Insider ϟ (@_storminsider) March 4, 2019
The National Weather Service said that it appeared two separate tornadoes had touched down in Lee County.
Video shows destruction in Beauregard, Alabama after tornado leaves at least 14 people dead, according to officials in Lee County. https://t.co/Nh2TAH8mVz pic.twitter.com/6keijqTy3g
— ABC News (@ABC) March 4, 2019
The storm that slammed Lee County, Alabama, also spawned tornadoes and localized flooding across parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, NWF Daily News reported. Although property damage from high winds was reported, no other fatalities were reported outside of Lee County.
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