Deadly Storms, Tornadoes Menace Southern States
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At least two people are dead after thunderstorms and tornadoes rolled through the South on Monday, causing flash flooding and tearing a trail of destruction.
One twister descended on a neighborhood in eastern North Carolina, sending more than a dozen people to the hospital. In its wake were snapped trees, overturned cars, and roofless homes.
Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge, La., high winds swept through one community, leaving homes badly damaged.
Also, in Mississippi, at least nine apparent tornadoes tore across the state, injuring close to a dozen people and damaging homes and one church.
The storms triggered dangerous floodwaters.
Countless cars were buried up to their roof in water, and rescue workers wearing life jackets waded through chest-deep water to reach stranded residents.
"Bottom floor of my house is under water and the water level is rising," one man told a 9-11 dispatcher.
The body of a 9-year-old Mississippi girl was pulled from a drainage ditch after she was swept away. Storms dropped nearly seven inches of rain there over the last two days.
Near Atlanta, a driver was found dead in a car in a swollen creek
But there was much happier ending in Smyrna, Ga., where a mother and her three kids survived a giant tree flattening part of their home.
Meanwhile, in Birmingham, Ala., firefighters raced through knee-deep water to rescue a man and two little girls from a submerged car.
Nearly a hundred families were trapped in one Alabama apartment complex. Some had to be rescued by boat.
"They were freaking out, hyperventilating and they were trying to make sure that everyone was up and knocking on friends doors," Osunsami resident Chad Crosson recalled.
In Augusta, Ga., where the Master's golf tournament is being held this week, practice round play was halted Monday two hours after it began. It was the first time in 11 years that weather washed out a Monday practice round.
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