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Easter Storms

STORM DAMAGE A woman looks at a home that was destroyed by a tornado near Nixville, South Carolina. SEAN RAYFORD—GETTY IMAGES

Severe weather swept through the southern United States, beginning on Easter Sunday, April 12. Tornadoes and thunderstorms hit Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and other states.

The storms caused flooding and mudslides. At least 33 people were killed. Hundreds of homes were damaged. Electricity was out for more than a million people.

“Power lines are down, trees are all over the place. It’s hard to get from one place to the other because the roads are blocked,” T.C. Smalls says. He’s the sheriff in Hampton County, South Carolina.

People are practicing social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19. This made it hard for them to take shelter from the storms. In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey temporarily lifted a shelter-in-place order. People in storm shelters in Mississippi were asked to wear masks, use hand sanitizer, and stay six feet apart.

Stop and Think! Who was affected by the severe weather described in this article? Why should people read about weather events even if they’re not from an affected area?