ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - The Latest on severe weather in the South (all times local):
9:05 p.m.
Authorities say two weekend tornadoes destroyed or damaged 31 houses and recreational vehicles in Louisiana: 29 in the state’s northwest near Plain Dealing, and two homes in the central town of Natchez.
Officials say nobody was seriously injured.
The National Weather Service tells local news organizations that both areas were hit Saturday by EF-2 twisters, with 115-mph winds in the Plain Dealing area of Bossier Parish and 120-mph winds in Natchez.
Howard Johnson of Natchez told KTBS-TV he woke as his house was being torn apart, but escaped. Debris from the home wound up in the Red River.
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6:35 p.m.
Authorities say the weekend storm toll remains at 7 killed in the south Georgia mobile home community of Sunshine Acres, adding cadaver dogs have gone repeatedly over the wreckage and found no additional victims.
Lamar Ray, emergency management director, in Cook County where the deaths occurred Sunday, said he doesn’t expect the toll to rise.
“At this time we believe everyone is accounted for,” Ray said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “We used the cadaver dogs. We went over the whole area. We did two extensive searches yesterday and then today, with nothing changing.”
He says property owners will be allowed back Tuesday morning to see their destroyed and damaged homes - if they are considered safe.
Authorities are estimating that 45 homes were damaged or destroyed by Sunday’s severe weather in Cook County, and of those, 36 were mobile homes in Sunshine Acres counted as total losses.
The dead were identified as five females and two males, their ages ranging from 18 to 62 years old.
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4:55 p.m.
The National Weather Service is confirming a powerful tornado touched down in a southwest Georgia city where four people died.
The weather service reported a survey team concluded Monday that a tornado left a path of destruction a half-mile wide in parts of Albany. The agency said it was an EF-2 tornado or stronger, meaning it packed winds of at least 111 to 135 mph.
Survey teams are also examining storm damage in three other Georgia counties where people died and tornadoes were reported. Those findings have not been released.
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4:30 p.m.
Florida has its first fatality attributed to the severe weather that gripped the southern U.S. over the weekend.
Columbia County Emergency Management Director Shayne Morgan said Monday that a storm passing through Lake City in northern Florida caused a tree to crash into a house. A woman was injured and later died at a nearby hospital.
The National Weather Service in Miami said on social media that two tornadoes touched down early Monday morning in South Florida.
A tornado with top wind speeds of 107 mph hit Miami-Dade County, while a tornado reaching speeds of 80-85 mph hit Palm Beach County.
Palm Beach County officials closed two schools Monday because storms had bent fences and scattered bleachers and other sports equipment into nearby streets.
Minor flooding was reported across Florida’s Panhandle.
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4 p.m.
A tornado that tore a path across south Mississippi on Saturday damaged or destroyed more than 1,100 homes.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported Monday that in Forrest County alone, 411 homes were destroyed or suffered major damage Saturday, while 588 saw minor damage. In Lamar County, the twister destroyed or did major damage to 43 homes and minor damage to 52 homes. In Perry County, 10 homes were damaged.
Damage assessments continue, part of the process of seeking a federal disaster declaration.
Recovery efforts continue Monday. Mississippi Power Co. and Dixie Electric Power Association report that the number of customers without power has fallen to about 1,000.
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12:15 p.m.
Georgia’s governor is placing 16 counties under a state of emergency following weekend deadly storms.
Gov. Nathan Deal expanded his emergency declaration Monday to include nine additional counties in southern Georgia. The declaration frees up state resources to assist storm victims.
Covered areas include Dougherty, Cook, Brooks and Berrien counties, where apparent tornadoes are blamed for killing at least 15 people Sunday.
Deal’s office said the governor plans to tour the storm damaged areas Wednesday.
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11:20 a.m.
A local official in Georgia who represents an area hit hard by severe weather over the weekend has called on the federal government for help.
Dougherty County Commission Chairman Christopher Cohilas said Monday that requests were being delayed by red tape. He called on President Donald Trump to help cut through the bureaucracy.
Four people were killed and widespread damage has been reported in Dougherty County as of Sunday night.
“We’ve been begging for the help of FEMA,” he said at a press conference in Albany, Georgia. “We’re not asking for money right now. We’re asking for resources.”
At least 19 people were killed following severe weather, including tornadoes, in the southeastern U.S. over the weekend.
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9:50 a.m.
Residents of Big Pine Estates waited outside the mobile home park in Albany early Monday, hoping to get inside and look at what remained of their belongings after the storm hit Sunday afternoon.
Fire and rescue crews were searching through the debris, looking for people who might have become trapped when the storm came through. A total of 19 people have died in two days as the storm system tore through the Southeast, including 15 in south Georgia alone.
Meanwhile, fire and rescue crews searched the debris looking for people who might have become trapped when the storm hit. Authorities said a total of four people died Sunday in Dougherty County, which includes the city of Albany. That brings a total of 19 deaths across the Southeast, including 15 in south Georgia alone.
Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler said the Georgia fatalities include four people who died Sunday in the county that includes the city of Albany.
Rescue workers say people are missing from the trailer park, but they are not sure how many. They also are not certain whether the residents may be staying with friends or family at other locations.
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9 a.m.
Seventy-four-year-old Chuck Stafford was watching the Atlanta Falcons rout the Green Bay Packers for the NFC title Sunday afternoon in the mobile home park in Albany where he’s lived for more than 31 years when the weather started getting bad.
He had gotten up to go to the restroom during a commercial when the storm hit. He said the wind started blowing and the mobile home started shaking. Stafford said he “grabbed hold of my washer and dryer, got my legs spread apart and hunched over.”
The storm was over in a few minutes. Stafford said he walked up the hall to where he had been sitting watching the game and all the trailer’s windows were blown out and glass was everywhere.
Stafford was among the residents waiting with his sister at the Big Pine Estates mobile home park early Monday, hoping to get back inside his trailer. He was worried about his belongings getting wet.
Meanwhile, fire and rescue crews searched the debris looking for people who might have become trapped when the storm hit. Authorities said a total of four people died Sunday in Dougherty County, which includes the city of Albany. That brings a total of 19 deaths across the Southeast, including 15 in south Georgia alone.
Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler said the Georgia fatalities include four people who died Sunday in the county that includes the city of Albany.
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8:45 a.m.
The storm system that killed at least 19 and caused destruction across the Southeast also downed trees and power lines around Florida.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum said the city was bringing in additional crews to restore power to over 30,000 customers who lost electricity Sunday.
Gillum told The Tallahassee Democrat (https://on.tdo.com/2jhnGkp ) that state officials quickly coordinated with local authorities to clear road debris. Forecasters said the storms hadn’t caused as much damage as Hurricane Hermine in September.
Palm Beach County officials closed two schools Monday because storms had bent fences and scattered bleachers and other sports equipment into nearby streets.
Volusia County Emergency Management Director Jim Judge said a funnel cloud was spotted Sunday evening near Daytona International Speedway, but there were no reports of tornadoes touching down.
Minor flooding was reported across Florida’s Panhandle.
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8:15 a.m.
North Carolina escaped most of the problems associated with strong storms that across the South over the weekend and killed at least 19 people. But the Charlotte area was dealing with flooding from heavy rains Monday morning.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for urban areas and small streams in Charlotte, as well as for several streams in Cabarrus County just east of Charlotte.
No serious injuries have been reported.
Fallen trees and flooded roads were reported around the Charlotte area.
The heaviest rain had moved out by 5 a.m., but some areas were still experiencing some flooding. Parts of the city received nearly 2 inches of rain.
Duke Energy reported about 900 customers without electricity in North Carolina.
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7:45 a.m.
An additional death in southwest Georgia is being blamed on severe storms that marched across the South over the weekend.
Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler says a total of four people died in the county Sunday amid the weather that killed at least 19 people in the Deep South.
Fowler did not give any details Monday morning about the latest death and the victim’s name wasn’t immediately released.
Fowler said authorities there are trying to determine if they need to keep searching for victims and that it’s been hard to make sure everyone is accounted for.
The vast storm system tore through the Southeast over two days, spawning apparent tornadoes, pulverizing mobile homes and leaving other destruction in its wake.
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7:15 a.m.
Severe storms that have killed at least 18 across the South, caused damage in north Georgia and at least one county to close schools Monday.
WSB-TV reports (https://2wsb.tv/2iUWpWr ) that several roads were closed in Gordon County after strong winds knocked down trees and power lines and heavy rain caused widespread flooding.
Gordon County school officials called off classes because of the damage and closed roads, though staff members were asked to report by 10 a.m. if possible.
Authorities said the vast storm system claimed at least 18 lives over two days as it tore through the Southeast, spawning apparent tornadoes, pulverizing mobile homes and leaving other destruction in its wake.
Authorities in south Georgia’s Cook County confirmed seven deaths at a mobile home park in the rural community of Adel, where about half of the 40 homes were leveled.
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6:30 a.m.
The National Weather Service has confirmed two tornadoes struck South Carolina over the weekend, injuring one woman as storms that moved across the South over the weekend killed at least 18.
The weather service says a tornado touched down about 3:45 p.m. Saturday in Barnwell County and moved into Bamberg County. The other occurred in Orangeburg County a few minutes later.
Forecasters said Sunday that both storms had been confirmed as tornadoes.
A woman was trapped in a mobile home that was damaged near Blackville. She was taken to a hospital but there was no word on her injuries.
No injuries were reported in the twister in Orangeburg County.
Hundreds of trees were blown down and several homes and barns were damaged.
There was a tornado watch Sunday afternoon for six counties from Aiken to Manning, but no tornadoes were reported.
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3:30 a.m.
Authorities say a vast storm system that kicked up apparent tornadoes, shredded mobile homes and left other destruction scattered around the Southeast has claimed at least 18 lives on its two-day assault on the region.
Severe weather put millions of people in the South on edge and left seven dead in one south Georgia trailer park alone Sunday. Authorities reported four deaths Saturday in Mississippi as the storm system ramped up. It was so big parts of it threatened the Carolinas and north Florida.
Authorities in south Georgia’s Cook County confirmed seven people died at a mobile home park in the rural community of Adel, where about half of the 40 homes were leveled. Debris lay about not far from mobile homes largely untouched but emptied of survivors and cordoned off by police.
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This story has been corrected to show that a state of emergency has been declared in 16 Georgia counties, not 18.
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