At least 12 people are dead in Alabama after a tropical storm brought heavy rain and flooding across the Southeastern United States over the weekend.
Ten people, including nine children, were killed on Saturday in a car crash with two vehicles that likely hydroplaned on wet roads, according to Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock. The crash took place on Interstate Highway 65 in Butler County, which houses Greenville. Multiple people were injured in the crash, though the victims have not been identified.
TROPICAL STORM CLAUDETTE BRINGS HEAVY RAINS AND FLOODING TO GULF COAST
Eight of the children who died were in a vehicle from the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, which offers refuge to neglected and abused school-aged children. The victims ranged from age 4 to 17.
A father and a 9-month-old girl were killed in the other vehicle.
The Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch shared its condolences in a Facebook post on Sunday.
“Our hearts are so heavy today. Our Ranch family has suffered a great loss. As many of you may have heard, one of our Ranch vehicles was involved in a multiple car accident yesterday afternoon. It is such a horrible tragedy and loss,” Michael Smith, CEO of the Girls Ranch, said.
Two others, including a 24-year-old man and a 3-year-old boy, died after a tree fell on their home on Saturday outside Tuscaloosa City.
Heavy rains fell across Alabama and Georgia on late Saturday, with as much as 12 inches along the Mississippi Gulf Coast reported from Tropical Storm Claudette, according to the Associated Press.
Flash flood watches are on high alert on Sunday for northern Georgia, most of South Carolina, the coast of North Carolina, the Florida Panhandle, and parts of southeast Alabama.
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The Butler County sheriff’s department did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
