Georgia Tornado Kills Six
A tornado touched down in two counties in southwestern Georgia before dawn Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring at least 25.
Two people were killed near Bridgeboro, a rural community in the southern Worth County, said Michelle McMickin, the county's deputy director of emergency management.
Four others were killed in Mitchell County, said Donna Etchells, secretary at the sheriff's department. At least one person was missing, she said, and an unknown number were injured.
At least 25 people were taken to hospitals in the area, and more were expected, hospital officials said.
The twister carved a quarter-mile swath of damage south of Camilla, knocking down trees and destroying buildings.
This is the same area where a tornado struck in February 2000, killing 11 people in Camilla. It was one of three deadly twisters that ripped through the region, killing 20 people in all.
"It's a mess, but not quite as bad as last time," said Joseph Willingham, an employee of the Camilla water department. He estimated that about 25 homes were damaged and five destroyed.
Dontressia Williams' house (built after the 2000 tornado) was one of those destroyed Thursday. She and her 2-year-old daughter survived by taking refuge in an interior room.
"I was scared," she said. "As I was going into that room, things were falling in, glass was breaking."
Some of the victims lived in mobile homes.