Violent storm hits Atlanta

Violent storm hits Atlanta-A violent storm, possibly a tornado, wreaked havoc through downtown Atlanta, Georgia, toppling trees onto homes, blowing windows out of high-rises and injuring at least 30 people, city officials and the National Weather Service said on Saturday.

The storm, which struck at about 9:40pm Friday evening, ripped roofs off downtown apartment buildings and sent people fleeing from their seats in the middle of a university basketball tournament, media reports said.

The Atlanta fire department said 30 people were sent to hospitals for treatment, but there were no deaths or serious injuries reported.

CNN showed images of homes crushed by huge trees, huge concrete flame pillars toppled in the city’s Centennial Olympic Park, and office towers — including CNN’s own headquarters — with scores of windows blown out.

The National Weather Service called the storm a “possible tornado” and warned of more severe weather on the way for the region including Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin called on people to stay out of the downtown area while emergency services assess the damages.

“It’s very significant, very serious storm. There’s lots of damage. It’s the first tornado of this type in the city for over 30 years,” Buzz Weiss, spokesman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said in an interview.

Tornadoes rarely hit major US cities but Friday night’s storm powered through as tens of thousands of basketball fans packed stadiums to watch a series of big games.

The storm hit the most prominent section of downtown Atlanta, which houses major attractions such as CNN, the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Centre, the Georgia Aquarium and the new World of Coca-Cola.

Those buildings are clustered around Centennial Olympic Park, which was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

“We are doing everything in our power to respond to what we now know was a tornado that came through,” Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin told a news conference.

Fresh thunderstorms in Atlanta were likely on Saturday, said the National Weather Service, which is yet to classify Friday’s storm as a tornado.

Officials temporarily halted the game between Mississippi State and the University of Alabama at the Georgia Dome as high winds damaged the roof, sparking alarm and causing a large monitor hanging high above the court to sway ominously.

Thousands also attended a National Basketball Association game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks at the Philips Arena, adjacent to the CNN Centre complex.

Emergency services were also searching a building in a suburb of metropolitan Atlanta that partially collapsed “in a pancake fashion,” Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran said.
Violent storm hits Atlanta