Severe Storms Kill 6 Across South, Including 4 in Alabama Mobile Home

Melissa Kory and Sean Breslin
Published: January 3,2017
Parts of the South were cleaning up and assessing damage Tuesday after severe thunderstorms spawned several tornadoes on Monday and six people died.
Four people were killed in a mobile home Monday evening in Rehobeth, Alabama, when a tree crashed through it. Another man died in Florida while trying to evacuate his home, and a woman was killed in southwestern Georgia.
(MORE: What Caused These Deadly Storms to Take Shape)
There were at least a dozen reports of tornadoes, while lightning sparked several house fires and high winds knocked out power to more than 80,000 people in two states. Downed trees and damaged buildings were reported in at least 28 counties in Mississippi, 15 parishes in Louisiana and 15 counties in Texas, according to the Associated Press.

Alabama

Four people died in a mobile home in Rehobeth, just southwest of Dothan in southeastern Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley confirmed on Twitter. The individuals were in a mobile home when a tree crashed through it, the Dothan Eagle reported. A storm survey revealed the tree was brought down by straight-line winds, not a tornado.
The victims were identified by the Dothan Eagle as Amanda Blair, 27, Ramona Michelle Lewis, 63, Carla Rambert and Terina Brookshire. Two were related, and the other two were visiting the home at the time the storms hit, the report added.
Three others escaped the mobile home unharmed, according to WTVY.com.
All Rehobeth schools were closed Tuesday, and classes in Geneva and Houston counties were delayed.
(MORE: Winter Weather to Follow Severe Storms in the South?)
A three-foot sinkhole opened up in Dothan on Monday morning, following torrential rainfall Sunday, according to WTVY.com.
Emergency management officials in Jackson declared a flash flood emergency for the town of about 5,000, located 65 miles north of Mobile. The flash flood emergency was canceled Monday evening.
Police in Jackson were conducting at least one water rescue from a stranded vehicle Monday afternoon and said in a Facebook post that numerous roads in town were completely flooded.
The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores said it will be closed for at least a week after straight-line winds as high as 80 mph damaged several animal enclosures. No animals were injured, according to WEAR-TV.
"Our office, the administration office, was rocking and rolling," Gulf Shores Zoo Director Patti Hall told WEAR.

Florida

A Walton County man drowned near his submerged vehicle in Mossy Head on Monday afternoon, the Walton County Sheriff reported. Sheriff's officers believe the man was trying to evacuate from a travel trailer off W T Hulion Road. He was later identified by Walton County officials as 70-year-old William Corley.

Georgia

A woman died in the severe storms late Monday night in southwestern Georgia, local officials said. Albany Fire Chief Ron Rowe told the AP that a "violent" storm came through the area at about 11 p.m. Monday night, damaging more than 1,000 homes – four of which caught fire. He said the woman, whose name has not been released, was killed by the storm but did not provide additional details.
As severe storms moved into the Peach State, at least one tornado was spawned Monday night. The NWS confirmed that an EF1 tornado hit Mitchell County. It had maximum winds of 90-95 mph, measured 200 yards wide and was in progress for 4 miles.

Mississippi

A confirmed EF1 tornado touched down Monday afternoon near Mendenhall, southeast of Jackson, according to the NWS. A confirmed EF2 tornado hit near Mt. Olive, about 8 miles northeast of Collins, and an EF1 twister was reported in Lincoln and Copiah counties. As of Tuesday afternoon, all ratings were preliminary, as surveys were ongoing.
A 20-year-old Vicksburg man was struck by lightning early Monday as he and three others were duck hunting in the Mahanna Wildlife Management area, WLBT-TV reported. Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace told the station the man is injured, but the extent of his injuries are not yet known.
Power was out to more than 23,000 customers in Mississippi on Monday, likely due to heavy winds, according to the AP.

Louisiana

The 911 call center in Lecompte reported damaged to several homes from a possible tornado early Monday afternoon, and social media photos from Avoyelles Parish show homes damaged, and a four-wheeler tossed on top of a fence.
On its Facebook page, KALB-TV reported damage throughout Avoyelles Parish, including roofs missing from buildings in Hessmer, multiple trees down on LA 114 near the Hessmer nursing home, and a tree down on a house off of LA 115.
Strong winds damaged the Wal-Mart in Marksville, ripping off parts of the building and signs and turning over a semi trailer behind the building.
More than 16,000 Entergy customers in Louisiana were without power at one point Monday, including 11,000 in Metairie alone, according to WVUE-TV.

Texas

Lightning sparked a house fire a northeast Houston neighborhood Monday morning, according to KHOU.com. Resident Patricia Tarney told KHOU she was awake watching TV just before 6 a.m. when her house shook.
"It felt like a big boom you know, that's all you can say just a real big boom," Tarney told the station. "Kind of sad, kind of sad, you know? It's just one of those things there's nothing you can do you couldn't prepare yourself for it."
Everyone was able to get out of Tarney’s home, including two dogs.
Lightning was likely the cause of another fire earlier on Monday morning, this one in a home in Parker. The homeowner, who made it out safely with his family, told NBC DFW his family heard a loud lightning strike before their smoke alarms started beeping.
In Waxahachie, a fallen tree trapped a teen in a mobile home, WFAA.com reported. He was able to free himself but was taken to the hospital for observation.
Southeast of Dallas, high winds tore the roof off of a community center in Cottonwood, according to the NWS, and blew over a semi truck on Interstate 35 Grandview early Monday morning.
More than 18,000 customers were without power in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as of midday Monday, according to energy provider Oncor.