UPDATE: Sheriff says 22 confirmed dead in apparent twister

Associated Press

A sheriff says the death toll is now at 22 from an apparent tornado that devastated an Alabama community.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told The Associated Press late Sunday evening that children are among the dead. He says it’s possible the death toll could continue to rise, but authorities are pausing search efforts overnight because conditions are too dangerous in the dark due to massive amounts of debris.

Jones says search and rescue teams will resume their work at first light. He added that some single-family homes are wiped clean to a slab. He has said earlier there were injuries but had no specific account of those or their severity. Authorities have blocked off the area.

The storm was one of several possible tornadoes or confirmed twisters in an outbreak springing from a severe weather front that lashed the Southeast on Sunday.

President Donald Trump has tweeted to Alabama residents to be safe in the wake of deadly storms, including an apparent tornado that has claimed several lives in that Southern state.

Trump wrote in the tweet Sunday evening: “To the great people of Alabama and surrounding areas: Please be careful and safe. Tornadoes and storms were truly violent and more could be coming.”

His tweet concluded: “To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!”