22 Dead in Georgia as Tornadoes Rip South

In Camilla, Ga., Mayor Jay Powell compared the aftermath to the effects of a nuclear bomb. The metaphor used by volunteer firefighter Mike Newsome was “like somebody took a bulldozer and leveled it.” And at the local hospital, the administrator needed just two words: “war zone.”

All were trying to describe a 10-mile-long swath of destruction caused by a line of powerful tornadoes that roared through the southeastern United States early Monday, striking with particular fury in southern Georgia. At least 22 people were killed, and more than 100 others were reported injured.

The deadly outbreak of twisters shortly after midnight devastated Georgia’s Mitchell County, about 175 miles south of Atlanta, where at least 14 of the deaths occurred. Seven were confirmed dead in Grady County and one in Colquitt County.

“All you heard was a roar, woo-woo-woo,” said Johnny Jones, whose mobile home was picked up and tossed on its side. Jones said his 14-year-old son was pinned beneath a washing machine after their home was lifted from its moorings. He freed his son, Jones said, and they both crawled out the window.

Newsome estimated 50 to 60 homes were destroyed, most of them mobile homes.

Among those reported killed were the wife and 8-month-old daughter of Todd Harrell, who told authorities that he saw the tornado coming and threw himself on top of his family in an effort to save them. Harrell survived, suffering internal injuries that required removal of part of his intestine. A stepdaughter also survived with a broken arm.

“It’s bad for this to happen to anybody, but this young family . . . ,” said the Rev. Stephen Hart. “Words can’t express it.”

In Washington, President Clinton said he was “saddened by the terrible loss of life” in Georgia and asked for prayers for the victims. He said federal emergency management teams were on the scene.

A spokesman for Mitchell County Hospital said about 100 people were treated for injuries there before the power went out. Later arrivals were sent to other communities.

High winds and hail associated with the storm system also caused damage in Alabama and Arkansas, where at least six homes were destroyed. Tornadoes were also reported in Florida’s Panhandle, and trees and power lines were downed in parts of Mississippi and Texas.

Many of Mitchell County’s 20,000 residents work in chicken processing plants, textile factories and at Autry State Prison, five miles south of Camilla. The area is a patchwork of small towns, fields of peanuts and cotton and residential subdivisions.

Near Camilla, resident Willie Nelson said the winds picked up his entire three-bedroom home and moved it a quarter-mile away. Miraculously, he suffered only cuts and bruises.

“The whole house came up and I came up with it,” said Nelson, 41. “I was praying for the Lord to take care of me.”

The storms were embedded in a larger system of low pressure that swept across the eastern third of the nation, bringing rain to the East Coast from north Florida to New England.

Witnesses said at least two twisters touched down near Camilla.

“It hit the impoverished and the affluent alike,” said Liz McQueen, a Red Cross volunteer working at a temporary morgue near Camilla.

After flying over the stricken region, Gov. Roy Barnes declared four counties disaster areas.

The tornadoes were the deadliest in Georgia since 1936, when 203 people were killed near Gainesville, northeast of Atlanta.

In Mitchell County, about 200 buildings were destroyed and more than 160 others were damaged, according to preliminary surveys. More than 5,000 people were reported without power.

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Times researcher Anna M. Virtue contributed to this story.