AN Alabama church was struck by lightning on Easter Sunday, as tornadoes hit the Deep South.
Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama were facing likely “strong tornadoes”, as the NOAA warned severe weather would last until Monday.
The warnings for severe weather came as every U.S. state is already under a major disaster declaration due to the coronavirus.
More than 22,000 people were out power in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas due to the stormy weather, according to the Southwestern Electric Power Company.
Pictures showed Shoal Creek Baptist Church was on fire, after lightning struck the Princeville, Alabama building’s steeple, WAFF reported.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and luckily, no injuries were reported, WAFF reported.
According to the National Weather Service’s tornado watch service, parts of Louisiana and Mississippi are under a tornado watch until 8 p.m. Central Time.
Much of the Deep South is under similar warnings, as the states face flash flooding, severe wind, thunderstorms, and the threat of tornadoes on the Easter holiday.
Maps from The Weather Channel show the storms are going to continue in the Deep South until Monday.
A picture shared by WJTV showed a tornado on the ground at Yazoo County airport in Mississippi.
All flights out of Monroe Regional Airport in Louisiana are canceled indefinitely, after severe winds tossed around debris and left planes buried.
Pictures shared by the City of Monroe on social media show planes at the airport buried under piles of debris.
One plane had its tail pushed into the ground and was half-buried under a building, with its nose pointed into the air at a 45-degree angle.
Buildings were torn apart because of severe winds or tornadoes, the City of Monroe said.
Another picture showed the sides of an office building at the airport were torn apart, looking as if they’d been clawed.
Insulation and the interior of the building were exposed as the siding was almost completely torn off the outside wall.
Jamie Mayo, the Mayor of Monroe, and Ron Phillips, the airport’s Regional Director, announced in a joint statement: “all flights at the Monroe Regional Airport are cancelled until further notice.”
Travel has already been slowed due to the pandemic, with some airlines announcing domestic flights alone have been reduced substantially – and many airlines have all but halted international flights.
Delta Airlines, one of the companies that has flights to and from Monroe Regional Airport, reduced the number of flights in April by 80 percent, according to a statement from CEO Ed Bastian.
The airport in Monroe was not the only area damaged by the severe weather.
Another video shared by Mississippi’s Emergency Management Agency showed flash flooding near an apartment in the town of Como.
As workers stepped off a truck, they were standing nearly knee-high in flooded streets.
Weather conditions remained poor, and officials worked to clean debris from the runways so flights could begin operating again.
Pictures shared by the city showed power lines and trees near St. Mary Baptist Church in Monroe, Louisiana were down, as other large pieces of wood were strewn about, crushing fences.
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