2 dead as storm rips through Georgia, Tennessee
ADAIRSVILLE, GA. A massive storm system raked the U.S. southeast on Wednesday, spawning tornadoes and dangerous winds that overturned cars on a major Georgia interstate and demolished homes and businesses, killing at least two people.
In northwest Georgia, the storm system tossed vehicles on Interstate 75 onto their roofs.
WSB-TV in Atlanta aired footage showing an enormous funnel cloud bearing down on Adairsville, northwest of Atlanta, as the storm ripped through the citys downtown area. The system flattened homes and wiped out parts of a large manufacturing plant.
One person was killed and nine were hospitalized for minor injuries, state emergency management officials said. Residents said no traces remained of some roadside produce stands a common sight on rural Georgias back roads.
One other death was reported in Tennessee after an uprooted tree fell onto a storage shed where a man had taken shelter.
The sky was swirling, said Theresa Chitwood, who owns the Adairsville Travel Plaza.
It sounded like a freight train coming through, she said. It looks like a bomb hit it.
Adairsville is a small town in the Oothcalooga Valley, with a historic district lined with trees and a mix of pre-Civil War and Victorian homes. It proclaims itself the first Georgia town to be listed in its entirety on the National Register of Historic Places and looks to draw tourists with its antique shops.
Kenny