A powerful tornado rips through Alabama city as a storm system has millions in suspense in the Southeast

By Minyvonne Burke and Steve Strouss -

A powerful tornado ripped through parts of Alabama on Thursday, leaving "significant damage" and injuring multiple people in the city of Selma, its mayor said, while

that is move east.

The swirl was part of more than a dozen tornadoes that struck swaths of Alabama on Thursday.

Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. urged residents this afternoon to “avoid driving on roads and stay away from downed power lines” as multiple rapid response teams were deployed to the disaster area to assist.

A powerful tornado caused severe damage in Selma, Alabama on Thursday, January 12.

Butch Dill/AP

The Birmingham office of the National Weather Service urged patience from residents in areas hardest hit by storms, noting that it may take "many days" for the agency to assess their impact.

["Don't worry, mommy," said the missing California boy before being swept away by the current]

"Please bear with us as we study the damage and try to address a situation that is difficult to describe," the agency said in a statement.

“There will be many long days ahead for everyone who comes to the areas hit by these storms, and even longer days for those directly affected.”

"Keep calm"

Most streets in the city of Selma are closed due to downed power lines and trees, according to another statement from local authorities.

“We ask everyone to remain calm and stay at home until further notice,”

municipal authorities said in a Facebook post.

“All the schools have reported that the students are safe.

It is not safe at this point to go to schools or allow children to leave them," they said.

Nearly 50% of Dallas County, where Selma is located, is without power, according to PowerOutage.US.

A user on Twitter posted a video of what appeared to be a whirlpool making landfall on Interstate 65.

The Autauga Emergency Administration in Prattsville

reported WFSA, an affiliate of NBC, the sister network of Noticias Telemundo.

At the Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta, Georgia, flights have been ordered to suspend due to thunderstorms, the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday.

In a statement to NBC News, an airport spokesperson said the situation is being monitored and there is no significant impact on Hartsfield-Jackson.

In Morgan County, the sheriff's office said several buildings were damaged during the storm.

.

In Decatur, a city located in Morgan County, there are overturned trucks and fallen trees.

Police said there were injuries.

Several houses were damaged after a strong tornado passed through the city of Selma, Alabama, on Thursday, January 12, 2023. Vasha Hunt / AP

The National Weather Service in Birmingham has issued a tornado warning for northeast Chambers County.

[Severe Weather Keeps Millions Under Tornado, Snowfall, and Flash Flood Warnings]

“This is a large and extremely dangerous tornado over the territory

.

Please seek shelter immediately if you find yourself on the range,” he tweeted shortly before 2:30 p.m.

Millions of people under alert in the southeast

At least 19 tornadoes have been reported across the state of Alabama, as a violent thunderstorm system has swept across the Southeast.

Significant damage has also been reported in Hale, Bibb, Sumter and Autauga counties.  

Damage assessment after the tornado in Alabama could take several days, authorities reported. Vasha Hunt / AP

About 24 million people remain in the severe storm hazard zone in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

There is an increased risk in those areas for tornadoes and severe tornado warnings.

The cities of

could be affected.

In addition to tornadoes, the storms have the potential to cause large hail and powerful wind gusts of up to 75 mph (120 kph).