A confirmed EF1 tornado also hit Mercer County, Kentucky, according to the weather service, while emergency management officials in Mississippi surveyed possible tornado damage in Monroe County Thursday.
BEFORE AND AFTER:Drastic images capture the devastation from a series of storms in California
Authorities found the seventh Alabama victim Friday morning in a wooded area, said Autauga County Sheriff David Hill. No one else was reported missing as of Friday, he said.
“This is hopefully the last one,” Hill said of the seventh fatality.
The tornado that sliced a 20-mile path through the historic city of Selma’s downtown area in south-central Alabama collapsed buildings, uprooted trees, tossed vehicles, shredded power lines and ignited at least one fire.
Autauga County emergency management director Ernie Baggett said the tornado wrecked about 40 homes, including several mobile homes launched into the air.
“They weren’t just blown over,” Baggett said. “They were blown a distance.”
Six reported deaths happened about 40 miles northeast of Selma, he said. The mayor of the 18,000-population city, James Perkins, said no one had died there despite several serious injuries.
“We have a lot of downed power lines,” Perkins said. “There is a lot of danger on the streets.”
People trapped after storm slams Georgia
Suspected tornado damage hit at least five Georgia counties, according to the weather service.