Last Sunday, a tornado outbreak struck the south, killing approximately 23 people and damaging property in several southern states.
According to The Weather Channel, the search for victims resumed Monday morning, and it was confirmed that three of the victims were children, the youngest being six years old.
The debris from the tornadoes was spread out from South Carolina all the way to the panhandle of Florida. The greatest area of impact was in Lee County, Ala., which is about 60 miles east of Montgomery.
The tornadoes touched down with winds of around 170 mph, which are the strongest to hit the United States since April 2017. The Weather Channel reported that at least 12 houses had been completely flattened, a saloon in Lee County was destroyed and a cell tower was toppled.
In Georgia, no injuries or deaths were reported. There were many trees reported down, as well as power lines. Some trees even went through houses.
In Florida, similar damage was done. In South Carolina, some families were attending a Sunday night church service that was interrupted as one of the tornadoes hit, damaging the front of the church.
According to The Washington Post, infrared drones, K-9 units and helicopters were sent out to look for victims that could be clinging to life in the rubble. This task proved to be difficult, since debris was scattered up to half a mile from where it originated.
The majority of the victims in Alabama were within a single square mile, and all missing person reports had been resolved by midday Monday.
There was only a five minute warning before the storm hit Alabama, leaving residents with little to no time to prepare.
The tornadoes have proven to be the deadliest since 2013. There was a total of three dozen tornado reports on Sunday, which will prove to be a long process to recover from. The weather patterns that brought the tornados are expected to bring future winter weather to the eastern portion of the United States.