Storms Ravage East Alabama Monday Leaving Thousands Without Power

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Storms swept through Alabama Monday, leaving severe property damage, water damage and power outages in the aftermath. At least two tornadoes were conformed in north Alabama and hail storms, thunderstorms and high winds caused even more damage - mostly to counties in the eastern part of the state.

Alabama Power confirmed Tuesday that more than 10,000 customers are without power due to the storms, and crews were dispatched Monday night to help restore power as quickly as possible. The company broke down the outages by county: In Calhoun County, there were 5,750 reported outages; 1,750 in Cleburne County; 1,250 in St. Clair County; and 1,200 in Etowah County. This morning, Alabama Power said it is shifting crews from unaffected parts of the state to get more crews in the northeastern area. The cities of Jacksonville, Anniston and Raindow City had some of the worst damage, although fortunately there have been no fatalities reported from the storms. A NWS report said the damage in Jacksonville was consistent with an EF-2 tornado of 120-130 mph winds. They believe the tornado may have strated in Southside and tracked approximately 30 miles into Georgia.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, officials with the City of Jacksonville said two people were transported to local hospitals and two people were treated at scene after the storms. Jacksonville's Assistant Police Chief said a curfew has been set after 7 p.m. north of Mountain Street in an effort to prevent looting.

Jacksonville State University is still off limits to the public, as several buildings on campus were damaged and are now being assessed.

The Jacksonville Community Center is accepting volunteers to help with the cleanup efforts. The National Weather Service has sent crews to assess the damage as well.

Photo of storm damage in Hazel Green courtesy of Kurt Lebetrau via Twitter