Au moins sept personnes sont mortes et une vingtaine blessées lors du passage de tornades mercredi et jeudi dans le sud-est des Etats-Unis, qui ont aussi provoqué des dégâts importants, selon les autorités américaines.
Ces dernières craignent malheureusement la formation de nouvelles tornades qui pourraient provoquer également des inondations.
Des tornades accompagnées d’orages et de grêle ont frappé plusieurs régions du sud-est américain jeudi, faisant au moins sept morts.
A Rieglewood en Caroline du Nord, près de la ville de Wilmington, une tornade a fait « sept morts et quatre disparus », a indiqué lors d’une conférence de presse le gouverneur de l’Etat, Mike Easley. « Une vingtaine de personnes ont été transportées dans des hôpitaux », a-t-il ajouté.
Selon les autorités, la tornade a arraché du sol des dizaines de maisons préfabriquées dont certaines ont été projetées contre des voitures et des poteaux électriques. Le bilan pourrait d’ailleurs s’alourdir dans les prochaines heures puisque des blessés sont dans un état critique. Plus de 100.000 foyers sont privés d’électricité.
Dans l’Alabama, au moins deux enfants ont été blessés mercredi soir quand une tornade s’est abattue sur un centre de jeux abritant une trentaine d’enfants, selon le maire de la ville de Montgomery, Bobby Bright.
Un homme est mort mercredi dans des circonstances similaires en Louisiane, tandis que cinq personnes vivant dans un parc de maisons mobiles ont aussi été blessées en Arkansas.
Sources : AFP, Radio Canada
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Seven people have been found dead in the wreckage of a mobile home park in Columbus County in North Carolina, and 22 people injured with storm-related injuries, as tornado has hit on Thursday.
Five people, including four children, were in critical condition.
Dozens of homes were destroyed, trees and power lines were downed in Riegelwood, N.C., leaving 13,000 people without power.
« We’ve stepped across bodies to get (to) debris and search for other bodies here this morning, » Columbus County Commissioner Sammie Jacobs told CBS, adding that there were « houses on top of cars and cars on top of houses. »
« I’ve heard about being in a war zone, but this is something to behold, » Jacobs said.
Authorities fear that more deaths are to be blamed on tornado, as there are four people unaccounted for. Two other storm victims died in car crashes.
Another man died in his home when a tornado struck in Louisiana. That brings the total confirmed death toll to at least 11 since the storm first started moving through the Southern States. There are numerous reports of damage in Alabama, Mississippi, the Florida Panhandle and North Carolina.
The National Weather Service issued a second tornado warning for Columbus County later Thursday morning.
Seven people have been found dead in the wreckage of a mobile home park in Columbus County in North Carolina, and 22 people injured with storm-related injuries, as tornado has hit on Thursday.
Five people, including four children, were in critical condition.
Dozens of homes were destroyed, trees and power lines were downed in Riegelwood, N.C., leaving 13,000 people without power.
« We’ve stepped across bodies to get (to) debris and search for other bodies here this morning, » Columbus County Commissioner Sammie Jacobs told CBS, adding that there were « houses on top of cars and cars on top of houses. »
« I’ve heard about being in a war zone, but this is something to behold, » Jacobs said.
Authorities fear that more deaths are to be blamed on tornado, as there are four people unaccounted for. Two other storm victims died in car crashes.
Another man died in his home when a tornado struck in Louisiana. That brings the total confirmed death toll to at least 11 since the storm first started moving through the Southern States. There are numerous reports of damage in Alabama, Mississippi, the Florida Panhandle and North Carolina.
The National Weather Service issued a second tornado warning for Columbus County later Thursday morning.