ARMAGEDDON
Dramatic moment tornado rips through Louisiana killing woman, 59, while storm front leaves two others dead in Deep South
A TERRIFYING tornado ripped through Louisiana killing a 59-year-old woman, as a storm front left two others dead in the Deep South.
The devastating series of storms and twisters smashed into buildings and uprooted trees, leaving three dead and a dozen more injured on Monday.
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Footage shows the "dangerous" tornado which lashed into the northwest of Alexandria in Louisiana, just northwest of New Orleans.
It traveled a shocking 63 miles from DeRidder to Alexandria where it unleashed complete devastation.
Betty Patin, 59, was in her mobile home on Borel Road in Rosepine, Louisiana when the twister fatally struck, the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office said.
Chief Deputy Calvin Turner feared others were hurt in the carnage because crews were still trying to reach hard-hit areas.
The two people killed in Alabama were husband and wife, according to Lawrence County Coroner Scott Norwood in Alabama.
"It was total chaos," an exhausted Norwood told the Associated Press. "We had to make do the best we could."
CHILDREN INJURED
A 7-year-old-child who taken to a hospital in Birmingham was among those injured in the utter chaos.
The news comes after more than 70 tornado warnings were implemented across Louisiana and Mississippi, with over 33 reported tornadoes.
The National Weather Service announced a tornado emergency for the area of Alexandria - home to around 47,000 people.
"This a DANGEROUS SITUATION. TAKE COVER NOW," the ominous tornado warning stated.
Vernon County was ravaged by the weather, Vernon Parish Chief Deputy Calvin Turner told the Associated Press.
"We've got a church where the fellowship hall is torn all to pieces. Some homes are hit," Turner said.
"Right now we're having trouble just getting to places because of tress that are down."
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Weather warnings prompted numerous tornado watches and warnings on Monday, as some southern cities opened shelters.
The devastated area was filled with debris and downed trees when first responders arrived on the scene.
Disturbingly, the National Weather Service said the severe weather threat could continue into Tuesday.
Crews in Alexandria cleared roads and restored power late into the night, working through the chilly mist.
SCHOOL DESTROYED
Local kids were moved into the church there before the violent twister ripped off the roof of their school said Corporal Wade Bourgeois.
The hardest hit spot was a local sports complex housing 5 full-sized soccer fields, over 10 smaller ones, and 8 baseball diamonds.
"Fortunately we have no reports of any deaths or serious injuries," Bourgeois, of the Alexandria Police Department, said.
Speaking about the tornadoes whopping 101 kilometer trail, Meteorologist Donald Jones noted it may be the longest recorded in the area.
"That's got to be pretty damn close to it," Jones exclaimed.
Three people were injured - and at least one of them very seriously - by an apparent twister in Mississippi.
It was total chaos. We had to make do the best we could.
Lawrence County Coroner Scott Norwood
Numerous houses were completely damaged and others even destroyed but it was difficult to estimate, said emergency director Grant McCurley
Crews struggled to reach all of them as upturned trees tangled with power lines and blocked county roads and state highways, he said
McCurley said the damage was county-wide. Four counties eastward, seven women were taken to a hospital from a heavily damaged group home in Sumrall.
There was also less severe damage on the men's side of the group home Lamar County Emergency Management Director James Smith told WDAM-TV.
FLYING DEBRIS
That tornado cell sprang up in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana and went through Washington Parish on its way into Mississippi.
The Storm Prediction Center reported two other people were injured by the scattered flying debris after storms moved into the state.
As well as injuries, the property damage was horrific as trees fell atop homes and cars in Edwards, east of Vicksburg.
In Guntown, an apparent tornado destroyed a church as well as damaging dozens of homes.
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Pastor Carl Estes searched through the debris of Lighthouse Baptist Church for books, photos or any other salvageable items, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported.
The storm flattened the building, which Estes said was empty at the time.
Parishener Shane Keith found pews tossed around the hillside when he rushed to the church.
"I wanted to cry, I really did," Keith said. "I mean, I just got baptized last year and this means a lot to me, this place right here."
As the storm system roared into Alabama on Monday evening it toppled trees, power lines and kicked up more suspected tornadoes.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Schools across Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi dismissed students early and canceled afternoon events and activities in the wake of the devastation.
Significantly, Monday marked the 19th anniversary of a Southeastern tornado outbreak that produced a twister that killed 11 people in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Although tornadoes aren't unusual in December, one such storm on Dec. 1 spawned more than two dozen tornadoes in the Midwest.
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