© AP
Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin is seen here talking with first responders after the tornado
Homes, businesses, government offices and churches were among the buildings badly damaged or demolished when tornadoes struck central Alabama over the weekend.
The severe weather hit Saturday and another tornado was reported later that evening at an air base in the
Florida Panhandle.
On Sunday, the National Weather Service says its initial surveys indicated there was an EF 1 tornado in Autauga County, and a stronger EF2 twister in Wetumpka, Alabama.
'We suffered a tremendous amount of damage,' Mayor Jerry Willis said at a morning news conference with city and Elmore County officials. 'Something that we've never had here before.'
The familiar steeple of the First Baptist Church of Wetumpka was missing after the storm. And much of a historic Presbyterian church was reduced to rubble.
Officials said at a news conference Sunday morning that at least 25 homes were seriously damaged or destroyed. Also severely damaged were the Wetumpka police station, senior citizens center and recreation center, according to
WSFA-TV.
'Thus far we've seen damage indicating wind speeds of 120 to 130 mph,' John DeBlock, of the National Weather Service in Birmingham, said during the news conference.
No deaths or life-threatening injuries were reported.
Comment: UPDATE December 3rd
Anchorage Daily News reports that small aftershocks have continued with 1,800 measured between last Friday and Monday. A total of 153 measured greater than 3.0, 18 were at 4.0 or greater and five were greater than 5.0, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.
Earthquakes associated with Friday's 7.0 earthquake north of Anchorage as of 5:45 p.m. Sunday. The red dots represent shakes in the previous 24 hours, and the yellow dots are from the past week (with virtually all of them since Friday. The large dot directly north of the city was Friday's quake).
Residents in Alaska are still reporting aftershocks from the event: