Twisters cut deadly path through South Georgia

Published 8:16 am Monday, January 23, 2017

ADEL — Deadly tornadoes claimed at least 12 lives in South Georgia Sunday, with Cook County getting the worst of the violence.

At least eight people are confirmed dead in Cook County, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, with much of the carnage centered on a trailer park near Adel on Collie Harris Road. 

County officials confirmed two deaths in Brooks County, while Berrien County Sheriff Ray Paulk said two more people died in that county.

In Berrien County, Paulk named the two fatalities as Russell and Ann Nix of Old Lois Road. They were asleep in their home when a tree hit the house, crushing the bedroom, he said.

In Brooks County, Coroner Michael Miller confirmed the two fatalities as Jesse Newsome and his wife, Betty. Their mobile home, located just west of Barney on Ga. 122, was picked up and thrown 100 yards, he said, with shredded remnants of the building found along both sides of the highway. 

Their niece, Melissa McKinnon, was among those examining the wreckage later in the day.

“They had lived there nine or 10 years,” she said. “He raised me.”

Gov. Nathan Deal declared states of emergency in Lowndes, Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Colquitt, Thomas and Atkinson counties. 

County schools in Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Clinch, Echols, Lanier and Lowndes, as well as Valdosta city schools, Georgia Christian School, Highland Christian Academy, Scintilla, all campuses of Wiregrass Tech, St. John Catholic School and Little Angels Pre-School and Child Care will be closed Monday in the storm’s wake.

While violent weather lashed all the Southeast Sunday, south central Georgia was where the most tornadoes were reported, said Frank Strait, senior meteorologist for the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.

Exceptionally warm air over the South was picked up by a storm front moving in from the west, making the conditions ripe for thunderstorms and tornadoes, he said.

While some damage was reported in Lowndes County, local authorities did not report any fatalities. While tornado warnings were issued for Lowndes, none have been officially verified, Strait said.

In Cook County, state troopers were only allowing first responders and the Red Cross into the mobile home park at mid-afternoon because the situation was “unstable.” Heavy machinery, such as backhoes, as well as ambulances, were seen coming or going from the park’s entrance.

One trooper said cadaver dogs had been called in to search the mobile home park.

Susu Van Brackell, a volunteer firefighter, said at least a dozen homes had been “destroyed” in the park.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, this was a 20,” she said.