Two killed in tornado

Two people in rural northwest Georgia are dead and dozens injured after a series of severe storms moved through the state, producing the first-ever tornado to hit downtown Atlanta.

A woman was killed in Polk County early on Saturday afternoon when a storm demolished her home and threw her and her husband into a field, while an elderly man in neighbouring Floyd County was killed by flying debris as he sat in his home, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Officials have not released the victims’ names.National Weather Service officials were expected to be in both counties later yesterday to determine whether the damage was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds, meteorologist Vaughn Smith said.In Atlanta, crews began cleaning up debris and broken glass on Saturday from the tornado that struck the city with little warning the previous night.The storm cut a 13 km path of destruction through the city with winds gusting up to 1200 km per hour, leaving homes crushed by centuries-old trees and numerous windows shattered in high-rise office buildings and hotels.In neighbourhoods just east of downtown – like the historic Cabbagetown where a loft apartment building partially collapsed and homes were destroyed — residents ducked under tables and hid in closets as the twister made its way through the city.”It was just like everyone says it is – the proverbial freight train,” said Carol Grizzel as she cleaned debris out of her yard.Some of the cleanup in Atlanta was delayed by a series of strong storms that moved through the state Saturday, bringing torrential rain, high winds and quarter-sized hail.Residents had about eight minutes of warning before the twister struck downtown on Friday night, weather officials said.The tornado, classified as an EF2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, lasted about 20 minutes.This was the first tornado on record in downtown Atlanta, weather officials said.The last tornado to strike inside the city was in 1975, and it hit the governor’s mansion north of downtown.Nampa-APOfficials have not released the victims’ names.National Weather Service officials were expected to be in both counties later yesterday to determine whether the damage was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds, meteorologist Vaughn Smith said.In Atlanta, crews began cleaning up debris and broken glass on Saturday from the tornado that struck the city with little warning the previous night.The storm cut a 13 km path of destruction through the city with winds gusting up to 1200 km per hour, leaving homes crushed by centuries-old trees and numerous windows shattered in high-rise office buildings and hotels.In neighbourhoods just east of downtown – like the historic Cabbagetown where a loft apartment building partially collapsed and homes were destroyed — residents ducked under tables and hid in closets as the twister made its way through the city.”It was just like everyone says it is – the proverbial freight train,” said Carol Grizzel as she cleaned debris out of her yard.Some of the cleanup in Atlanta was delayed by a series of strong storms that moved through the state Saturday, bringing torrential rain, high winds and quarter-sized hail.Residents had about eight minutes of warning before the twister struck downtown on Friday night, weather officials said.The tornado, classified as an EF2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, lasted about 20 minutes.This was the first tornado on record in downtown Atlanta, weather officials said.The last tornado to strike inside the city was in 1975, and it hit the governor’s mansion north of downtown.Nampa-AP