MOBILE, Ala. — A fast-moving Christmas Day tornado has hit parts of Mobile, FOX10 reported.
The tornado was moving in on downtown just before 5 p.m. Central time Tuesday — and moving around 70 mph.
A tower camera for WALA-TV showed a large wedge tornado moving through the city.
“You could see it forming … and then it came behind the church and then (there was) all green fluorescent lighting and it was like popping transformers left and right,” a witness told WALA. “You heard crashing and then the power went out.”
There were no initial reports of injuries, a spokesman for Mobile Fire-Rescue said.
Several buildings, including a church and a high school, were damaged by the tornado, and there were several car wrecks, Steve Huffman said.
“One female was transported to the hospital with pregnancy issues, but she was not injured,” he said.
A spokeswoman with the the Alabama Emergency Management Agency said at least three counties were affected.
“We are still getting damage reports,” Yasamie August said. “We know that Mobile County has significant damage from trees down and power lines down. Most of that is concentrated around Government Street. Choctaw and Clarke counties are also reporting damage.
“The city of Prichard had one person injured due to the home they were in,” she said.
In Clarke County, high winds shoved a barn onto U.S. Highway 43, Emergency Management Director Roy Waite said.
“There are so many trees down that we cannot access areas at the moment,” he said.
Nearly 17,500 customers in Mobile were without power, a spokesman for Alabama Power said. Statewide, there were 22,000 homes and business that were in the dark.
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