At least 18 people have been killed and many others injured by severe weather in Georgia and Mississippi, emergency officials say.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency in seven counties in the state, where 14 people have died.
Other 4 people were killed by tornadoes in Mississippi on January 21.
According to the National Weather Service, a “tornado risk” continued for Southern Florida.
It also warned of damaging winds and hail.
In a news release, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency said that the 14 victims were in the southern Cook, Brooks, Dougherty and Berrien counties.
Image source CNN
Most of the deaths occurred in Cook County, when a mobile home park was apparently struck by a tornado.
Cook County coroner Tim Purvis said numerous mobile homes had been “leveled” before dawn on Sunday in the park near the city of Adel. He said emergency teams were still searching for survivors.
Tim Purvis estimated that the park has about 40 mobile homes in total, and roughly half were destroyed.
Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement: “These storms have devastated communities and homes in South Central Georgia, and the state is making all resources available to the impacted areas.”
President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Gov. Nathan Deal and expressed his condolences for the loss of life.
In Brooks County, coroner Michael Miller said two people died when an apparent tornado tossed a mobile home around 100 yards into the middle of Highway 122.
Swathes of the south-eastern United States have been hit by storms over the weekend.
In southern Mississippi, four people died in the path of a tornado with winds above 136 mph.
More than 50 others were injured and about 480 homes were damaged, state officials said.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency issued advice on the best and worst places to shelter from a tornado on January 21, advising locals in the path of a tornado to cover themselves with blankets or a mattress for protection.
Afghans and Pakistanis made homeless by this week’s earthquake could die from exposure, aid workers have warned.
There is an urgent need for tents and blankets for those forced to spend a second night outdoors, they said.
Children are especially at risk of succumbing to the extreme cold.
Thousands spent last night in near-freezing temperatures, reluctant to go back inside for fear of aftershocks, Pakistani media reported.
At least 360 people are known to have died in both countries, but officials are warning the number will rise, particularly in Afghanistan.
The UN children’s fund said a combination of intense cold and insecurity were cutting off some communities.
Remote and mountainous quake-affected areas have been hit by heavy rain and snow for the past two days, according to a UNICEF statement.
Photo Reuters
“Communication is poor and access difficult due to the tough terrain and security operations,” the statement says.
The earthquake’s epicenter was in the Afghan province of Badakhshan, where it damaged many of the province’s scarce roads, officials say.
Providing aid by air will be one of the most effective ways of reaching those in dire need, they say, but such operations are unlikely to start for many days – until survey teams on foot are able to visit the affected areas and report on the damage.
The Pakistani town closest to the epicenter is Chitral, but it also shook buildings in the capital, Islamabad, and in Peshawar.
The tremor lasted for up to 45 seconds early on October 26, creating cracks in walls across a wide region and leading to electricity blackouts.
Officials say more than 1,600 people in Pakistan were injured in the quake, and more than 4,000 homes destroyed.
The worst-hit area was the picturesque Swat Valley and areas around Dir, Malakand and Shangla towns in the mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Though relief is getting through to displaced people, Pakistani media reported that at least 5,000 villagers in the remote Kalash Valley remained homeless and charities could not reach them.
Many people remain trapped under piles of rubble, with officials warning that the death toll was set to rise.
In Afghanistan, the quake destroyed more than 7,600 homes, a statement from President Ashraf Ghani’s office said. He has ordered the military to make themselves available for the relief effort.
Taliban rebels urged Afghans “not to hold back in providing shelter, food and medical supplies'” to quake victims and said their fighters would help the relief effort.
Severe weather is threatening the eastern states, after two days of powerful storms killed up to 34 people.
Alabama had flash flooding and tornadoes were reported in North Carolina on Tuesday.
Thunderstorms and severe weather are expected along the east coast on Wednesday as the storm shifts.
Tornadoes cut a broad track of death and destruction through the southern states on Sunday and Monday.
The storms flattened buildings, overturned cars, and left thousands of residents without power.
Severe weather is threatening the eastern states, after two days of powerful storms killed up to 34 people
“Widespread thunderstorms are forecast across the central Gulf Coast region, with several severe [or] supercell storms possible,” the National Weather Service wrote in a morning forecast.
More than two million people are said to be at risk of tornadoes and high winds in parts of Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday.
As the storm moves further east, parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina are expected to be under threat of severe weather, forecasters say.
Meanwhile, the search for survivors continues in the southern US states that were smashed by huge tornadoes on Monday and Tuesday.
In Mississippi, officials reported 12 dead, including nine near Louisville and three in separate traffic accidents.
Early on Tuesday, residents of Louisville crept from their shelters to find their homes demolished by a tornado that punched holes in the roof of a local hospital.
Giles Ward huddled in a bathroom with his wife and four other relatives as a tornado destroyed his brick house and overturned his son-in-law’s four-wheel-drive parked outside his home in Louisville.
“For about 30 seconds, it was unbelievable,” said Giles Ward, a Republican state senator.
“It’s about as awful as anything we’ve gone through.”
Three people were reported dead in Alabama, including a University of Alabama student who perished when he took shelter in a basement and a retaining wall collapsed on him.
As many as 16 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 in the towns surrounding Little Rock, Arkansas, with Mayflower and Vilonia bearing the brunt of the damage.
Many homes and businesses, including a new secondary school worth $14 million, were left in ruins in Vilonia after the storm.
President Barack Obama promised assistance to those affected by the storms, saying federal emergency officials would be on the ground to help.
France and Italy are on flood alert as heavy rain brings chaos to parts of Europe.
Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate their homes in the Italian city of Pisa as the Arno River threatened to burst its banks on Friday.
High seas are expected to cause widespread flooding along France’s Atlantic coast.
Meanwhile, deep snow drifts left dozens of people stranded in Serbia.
Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate their homes in the Italian city of Pisa as the Arno River threatened to burst its banks
Local officials declared a state of emergency and deployed rescue teams to help travelers trapped in their vehicles. Snow storms and strong winds have been sweeping across Eastern Europe.
Italian media said a stretch of medieval wall measuring about 95ft in the town of Volterra, in the province of Pisa, collapsed as a result of heavy rain.
The French department of Finistere, in the west of the country, was placed on red alert as forecasters warned of huge waves and extensive flooding. Ten other French departments were also on alert for rising water levels.
At least two people died and scores had to be airlifted to safety after floods hit south-eastern France earlier this month.
Severe storms have been battering Europe for much of January.
A tornado has ripped through Texas town of Granbury resulting in six deaths, officials say.
Homes were destroyed when the tornado hit Granbury, 70 miles west of Dallas, late on Wednesday.
Local officials warned the toll could climb as rescue teams search through the rubble of affected houses. Dozens of people have been injured and are receiving treatment at local hospitals.
Severe weather has been reported across the region.
One resident described the tornado’s impact to Reuters: “The house started shaking. We were in a closet.”
Homes were destroyed when the tornado hit Granbury, 70 miles west of Dallas, late on Wednesday
“You could hear it – it sounded like a train going off. It was scary,” he said
The same storm spawned another tornado that tore through part of the town of Cleburne, about 25 miles south-east of Granbury, the National Weather Service said.
There have been no reports of any fatalities from Cleburne so far.
However, dozens of homes have been destroyed or badly damaged, according to officials and residents.
A third tornado in neighboring Parker County has also caused damage to buildings, particularly in the town of Millsap, officials say.
As relief efforts continue for the thousands of Northeasterners impacted by Superstorm Sandy, a new storm on Wednesday threatens to bring chilly temperatures and even snow to the wearied low lying coastal areas where residents are just beginning to pick up the pieces from the damage of last week.
The National Weather Service is warning that the nor’easter could bring high winds of up to 60 mph, rain and possible flooding, in addition to a very real danger from falling limbs from trees already beaten down by the previous superstorm.
The unnamed storm is moving up along the Atlantic coast from Florida and is set to join with a weather system moving East from the Midwest but some forecasters project the storm could veer offshore, which would be a welcome relief to the battered coast.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie warned that the severe weather could mean residents who just had their power restored, could once again be living without electricity.
There is “nothing we can do to stop the storms”, he said.
Similarly, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some residents living in neighborhoods at risk of flooding will be encouraged to relocate until the storm passes.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Michael Bloomberg warned the city would be “on a high wind watch and coastal flood watch beginning Wednesday morning through late Wednesday night”.
The mayor projected the city could receive an inch of rain, which could turn to sleet and even possibly snow.
“Keep in mind, these are forecasts and forecasts, as we know, change as you get closer to the event,” he added.
Though there are no forced evacuations, he said New York police will be patrolling at risk areas to encourage the elderly and families with children to evacuate.
“We can expect winds of up to 25 to 35 mph and gusts rising to 45 to 55 mph, with the highest winds occurring late Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night,” he continued, adding that the strong winds will make it feel around 10 degrees colder than the listed temperature.
The city will close all parks, playgrounds and beaches, given the threat of falling tree branches, he added.
Nor’easter storm on Wednesday threatens to bring chilly temperatures and even snow
Travelers flying to and from the East Coast will also experience delays and cancellations.
United Airlines announced on Tuesday afternoon that it will suspend most service to and from the New York area between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday due to the winter storm.
Storm surges along the coasts of New Jersey and New York are expected to reach 3 feet, only half to a third of what Hurricane Sandy caused last week, National Weather Service meteorologist Lauren Masters said.
Coastal Virginia could also get a surge of 2 or 3 feet, causing minor flooding on the east side of Chesapeake Bay during high tides on Wednesday morning and evening, he said.
However, most of the storm’s rain will stay offshore.
Up to an inch of snow may fall in northeastern New Jersey and the lower Hudson River valley, weather service meteorologist Mike Layer said.
Central Massachusetts and western Connecticut also could get an inch or two of snow, according to Masters.
Along the Jersey shore, which was devastated by last week’s superstorm, there was some relief that damage projections from the nor’easter have been scaled back.
But there was still concern about the ocean barreling past beaches and dunes that were largely washed away.
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