The southeast of the country continues to register significant problems following the passage of several storms and tornadoes. The meteorological phenomenon left at least three dead this Wednesday, two in Tennessee and another in North Carolina.
The first reported victim was in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Bob Brooks, county sheriff, was the one who broke the news. According to reports, it happened in a town located an hour north of Knoxville and the accident was caused by one of the storms that arrived accompanied by strong winds that brought down several power lines and trees. One of those trees fell on the car of a 22-year-old man, ending his life.
Another person died in the city of Columbia, located in Maury County, south of Nashville. There, the National Weather Service warned of the probable passage of a tornado that would put the states of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee at risk until three in the morning this Thursday:
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee until 3 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/uv60ScrrAY
— NWS Nashville (@NWSNashville) May 9, 2024
The phenomenon finally occurred and left, in its wake, a fatality as well as several injured people and a multitude of damaged houses. The situation reached such a level that Maury County 911 Deputy Director Lynn Thompson assured the AP that she could not provide details as they were "overloaded right now."
Maury Regional Health spokesperson Rita Thompson provided some more information. The worker reported that the hospital had received five patients, including the person who lost his life. Another person had serious injuries and the remaining three also arrived with injuries, although their lives were not in risk.
North Carolina reports one death due to storms
North Carolina also suffered significant complications from the storm. Gaston County, west of Charlotte, declared a state of emergency overnight Wednesday after the storm caused many downed power lines and downed trees.
In that same statement, the county reported that a person died after being crushed by one of the trees that fell on their car and whose rescue work was carried out by the New Hope Fire Department:
The New Hope Fire Department responded to an extrication with a tree down on a car. One person was rescued and transported to a nearby hospital, while a second person was killed in the incident.
The alert will remain active for the next few hours. The National Weather Service in Nashville issued a warning assuring that episodes of tornadoes could occur and that flooding was expected at least until 7 a.m. Thursday in various areas of the state:
Tornado Warning including Gruetli-Laager TN and Palmer TN until 4:30 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/MeHtJW3XCh
— NWS Nashville (@NWSNashville) May 9, 2024
Flash Flood Warning continues for Shelbyville TN, Tullahoma TN and McMinnville TN until 7:00 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/srsyaJwpe4
— NWS Nashville (@NWSNashville) May 9, 2024
In the rest of the country, the meteorological agency warned, a front "will extend from the mid-Atlantic to the west and towards the Ohio Valley" and then continue its path through "the southeast to the Tennessee Valley." On Friday night the storm will reach much of the Mid-Atlantic coast and will remain in Florida throughout Saturday.
School closings in northern Georgia
Northern Georgia also experienced the ravages of the storm. Several locations experienced major problems due to heavy rains and winds that caused power and road problems.
For that reason, as a precautionary measure, several schools decided to close their doors and suspend classes for both students and staff. An example of this is the Habersham County School District. There, road conditions and multiple problems with the power supply prompted the cancelation of classes this Thursday, as announced on the district's website:
School system officials have been out checking road conditions this morning. We have found numerous roads closed, numerous trees down, as well as downed power lines. Road conditions are unsafe for buses and student drivers. All schools will be closed for students and staff today. We urge commuters to use real caution if traveling this morning.
Classes were also suspended in schools located in Whitfield County and Gilmer County. There, they stated that they were forced to close schools due to dangerous flooding and the blockage of several roads:
Other districts opted to delay the start of classes. This was the case for schools located in Dade County and Walker County. Both reported that they were postponing school for two hours to see if the weather would improve:
Due to the threat of severe weather overnight and into the early morning hours, DCS will operate on a 2-hour delay Thursday, May 9th. #TeamDadeGa
— Dade Schools (@dade_schools) May 8, 2024
Power outages in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina
Georgia also reported problems with its power supply. According to data provided by Poweroutage.us, in the state, before 9:30 a.m., a total of 39,944 customers claimed to be without power in their homes.
Less lucky were North Carolina and Tennessee. There, a total of 84,327 and 69,827 people, respectively, said the storm had left them without power. Meanwhile, in South Carolina, 31,603 buildings said they were without power early Thursday.
