Alabama Tornado Kills At Least 22, More Still Missing

The Lee Country Coroner has confirmed 22 fatalities after at least one confirmed tornado touched down in Alabama, Sunday.

Coroner Bill Harris says he expects more deaths after a tornado hit Lee County. Harris told the Associated Press he had to call state authorities for assistance because there were more bodies than his four-person office could handle.

"We've still got people being pulled out of rubble," Harris told the Birmingham Newspaper. "We're going to be here all night."

Sheriff Jay Jones of Lee County said that the windstorm had caused catastrophic damage to the area as a number of homes were destroyed. Initial reports suggested at least 14 deaths, but the death toll has now hit 22. At least 12 of those deaths occurred in an area about 5 to 6 miles south of Opelika.

Jones said authorities were prioritizing search and rescue efforts on Sunday evening, but they were hampered by dwindling light. Severe weather had knocked out electricity and many places were swamped in darkness. The entire area was littered with twisted metal pilings and fallen trees.

The severe weather may have also destroyed an airport in Eufaula, along the Alabama-Georgia border, as well as a fire station. CNN meteorologist Gene Norman said that two tornadoes might have hit Lee County back-to-back within one hour.

Severe weather also reportedly caused damage at Fort Rucker. The fort is now closed and the extent of the damage is being assessed, according to WTVY.

Rita Smith, a spokesperson for Lee County Emergency Management Agency, told the AP that a large number of homes were either destroyed or damaged in Beauregard, about 60 miles east of Montgomery.

"Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives in the storms that hit Lee County today. Praying for their families and everyone whose homes or businesses were affected," Governor Kay Ivey said in a tweet.

Gregory Robinson, a spokesman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, said no deaths had been reported Sunday evening from storm-damaged Alabama counties outside Lee County. He said, however, that crews were still surveying damage in several counties in the southwestern part of the state.