At Least 5 Dead After Massive Tornados Lash Alabama (+Video)

The five fatalities were reported by officials in eastern Alabama’s Calhoun County on Thursday, after a large funnel swept through the area, knocking out power supply for tens of thousands of residents.

Fourteen tornadoes have been reported in Alabama on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service, along with one in Mississippi and one in Georgia.

NWS described the large tornado that touched down late Thursday near Newnan, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, as a "particularly dangerous situation" and urged residents to "take cover now."

The National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Alabama, has issued a "tornado emergency" for areas just south and east of the city, in Shelby and Jefferson counties, indicating there is a tornado that could have a potentially significant impact to human life and catastrophic destruction to property.

Harrowing footage captured from inside the storm also made the rounds, with one clip showing fierce winds pelting a car with debris as a twister passed nearby. Another resident filmed a near-miss as he just barely made it into his home as gales blew down trees just feet away.

Some of the massive funnels themselves were also caught on film in Birmingham, Eagle Point and elsewhere.

Radar had earlier confirmed a large and extremely dangerous tornado had touched down just southwest of Birmingham, according to the National Weather Service office there.

Between 30 and 50 homes and structures were damaged in the town of Pelham, according to local police, who also posted dozens of photos of the storm’s aftermath on social media. Police in Helena also reported significant damage, as did the sheriff’s department in Shelby County, which encompasses Helena. An officer in Florence, meanwhile, was struck by lightning while setting up a road barricade, though they were said to be “conscious and responsive” earlier on Thursday evening.

As a result of the damage, more than 28,000 power outages were reported across the state at the time of writing, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.

The potential threat Thursday goes far beyond the Birmingham area: More than 55 million people remain under threat for severe storms from the Gulf Coast to Pennsylvania, with tornadic storms expected continue well into the evening.

The Storm Prediction Center had said there's a high risk of tornadoes -- a level 5 out of 5 -- for much of northern Alabama, including Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville. That's the worst and highest forecast outlook issued for severe storms. And while it's very rare for the SPC to issue this kind of outlook -- it's now the second time in a week for the South.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday issued a state of emergency for 46 counties ahead of the expected severe weather.

A level 4 of 5 risk covers over 5 million people and includes Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The SPC on Thursday afternoon issued a "particular dangerous situation" (PDS) tornado watch until 8 p.m. CT for around 5.5 million people in parts of western and northern Alabama, northwest Georgia, central and eastern Mississippi and southern Tennessee. A PDS tornado watch is issued when the SPC forecaster has high confidence that multiple strong tornadoes of EF-2 strength or higher will occur in the watch area.

Just last week, several states including Mississippi and Alabama, took the brunt of intense storms. National Weather Service offices confirmed 49 tornadoes Wednesday and Thursday that cut a combined path length of nearly 210 miles through the South.