3 bodies found in a submerged SUV in Alabama as South recovers from series of storms
By Aya Elamroussi, CNN
Three bodies were found Thursday in a submerged vehicle, authorities said, after a powerful storm dumped record rain amounts in Alabama.
The bodies of a 72-year-old man along with two women ages 53 and 42 were recovered from an SUV in Holt, Alabama, after stormwater receded, the Tuscaloosa Police Department said in a statement. Officials have not released their names.
“At this time, investigators with the Tuscaloosa VCU (Violent Crimes Unit) believe the vehicle became disabled and sank in floodwaters from the storm Tuesday night,” police said in a Facebook post.
A series of dangerous storm swept through parts of the South earlier this week, spurring tornadoes across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
In Tuscaloosa, the threat was heavy rain, which prompted officials to warn residents of driving as flash flooding occurred.
Tuscaloosa on Tuesday saw 3.56 inches of rain, blowing past its 2012 rainfall record of 1.1 inches.
Birmingham also broke its 1908 rainfall record of 1.95 inches when it collected 2.32 inches Tuesday, and Monticello surpassed its 1968 high of 2.72 inches, receiving 2.87 inches of rain.
Meanwhile, a treacherous twister spun through the Arabi neighborhood in Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish Tuesday night, ripping roofs off homes, overturning cars and downing power lines with its 136 mph winds. Some homes were “picked up off their foundations and are lying in the street,” parish president Guy McInnis said.
The deadly tornado claimed the life of 25-year-old Connor Lambert, according to a spokesperson with the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office. Eight people were hospitalized for injuries related to the severe weather, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said the tornado reached a preliminary EF-3 rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
No injuries were reported after another tornado touched down Tuesday evening in the Lacombe area of St. Tammany Parish across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, the National Weather Service said.
On Monday, the storm system spawned more than 30 tornadoes in Texas, damaging about 1,000 homes. The National Weather Service determined a tornado in Jack County, Texas, was an EF-3, with winds between 140 and 150 mph. And in Grayson County, north of Dallas, a 73-year-old woman died after her home was destroyed in Monday’s storm, local officials said.
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CNN’s Michelle Watson, Robert Shackelford, Rebekah Riess, Chris Boyette, Derek Van Dam and Raja Razek contributed to this report.
