A storm system surprised Alabamians Thursday (Jan. 12) with at least 24 tornadoes that devastated homes, businesses and churches in different parts of the state.

Autauga County Coroner Buster Barber told The Associated Press Thursday evening that “more than four” people lost their lives due to the extreme weather.

At least two churches were damaged by one large tornado — Crosspoint Christian Church in Selma, which appears to have suffered extensive damage based on photos shared on ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann’s Facebook page, and Fairview Baptist Church in Selma, which lost its steeple and suffered roof damage.

Mark Wakefield, state disaster relief strategist for Alabama Baptists, said disaster relief volunteers are already at work in some areas and organizing in others.

Teams deploying

In Tallapoosa Baptist Association, disaster relief volunteers were working to set up an incident command center at the associational office that would be the hub for work in that area.

“We are trying to establish a location in Dallas County to work the Selma area also,” Wakefield said. “It’s a pretty significant operation at this point, it looks like.”

Volunteers in Autauga County have been out helping with search and rescue, and starting tomorrow Wakefield said he expects Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief teams to be working in all areas with damage around the state.

State of emergency

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency for six counties — Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa — and is monitoring the situation to determine if that declaration should expanded to include others.

More updates will be provided as information is available.

For more information about Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief, visit sbdr.org.

This article was originally published in The Alabama Baptist.

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Grace Thornton writes for The Alabama Baptist.)