Reported tornadoes destroyed several houses and hit a maximum security prison in northern Alabama as bad weather threatened more twisters across the region Friday, two days after a storm system killed 13 people in the Midwest and South.
Police near Huntsville said people have been injured in Madison County and were being taken to hospitals in the area. He did not know the extent of the injuries, or how many people were hurt.
WAFF-TV aired video of crushed homes outside Huntsville. The station also reported that storms caused extensive damage in the small community of Meridianville, where people were trapped in cars.
A state maximum security prison about 10 miles from Huntsville was also hit by a reported tornado, but the inmates remained secured, according to Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett. He said there were no reports of injuries but the roof was damaged on two large prison dormitories that each hold about 250 men.
"It was reported you could see the sky through the roof of one of them," Corbett added.