At least 33 killed as tornadoes rip through the South
At least 33 people have died since Sunday as nearly 60 tornadoes carved a path of destruction from Texas to the Carolinas. As the storms moved up the coast Monday, at least 75 million people were in the path of severe weather.
Sunrise revealed a stark, new reality in Bassfield, Mississippi. Massive damage left behind a surreal scene after a powerful tornado packing 150 mph winds swept through 18 counties Sunday.
Hundreds of homes and businesses were swept off their foundations. Trees were stripped of bark and branches. Cars landed in places they don't belong. Mississippi suffered the highest death toll. At least 11 were killed.
"We just hunkered down and all of a sudden it quit," said Richard Parrish. "We were in the eye of it. I mean it just went gone."
Some had no choice but to spend the night in a shelter, making concerns about coronavirus and social distancing an additional worry.
Overnight, the storm steamrolled through 12 states from Texas to West Virginia. The hardest-hit area was Chatsworth, where five people were killed.
Chris Watson and his wife were huddled in the bathroom when their mobile home took a direct hit Sunday afternoon, sending it 75 feet away. The couple was hiding in the closet when it happened.
"When it picked the trailer up and throws us out about 10 foot apart," Watson said. "God was watching us."
In Upson County, Georgia, an empty home was lifted right into the middle of the road. Farther north in Charlotte, North Carolina, firefighters rescued a woman pinned in her apartment after high winds toppled a tree onto her home Monday morning.
In Monroe, Louisiana, the Grayson family was watching Sunday church services on TV when an alert come through on their phones. Ten people were inside, and they all survived.
"We hear, I mean, just gotta keep survive come together, make this work to help each other through all the time," one of the Grayson's said. "So, like I say, it's gonna wait, all the way to God first."