SANDERSVILLE, Ga. – Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief workers are in Sandersville where a suspected tornado caused localized property damage.

“We have experienced, to this point, one tornado,” Dwain Carter, director of Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief, said Wednesday morning (Jan. 4). “I have people on the ground currently and will deploy a recovery team there first thing in the morning.”

A line of storms brought strong winds and heavy rain to much of Georgia and across the South on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Alabama, a possible tornado in Montgomery damaged homes, downed trees and flipped a vehicle on its side in Montgomery, Ala., early Wednesday.

Christina Thornton, director of the Montgomery Emergency Management Agency, said radar indicated a possible, but unconfirmed, tornado.

To the north, the National Weather Service said at least six tornadoes were reported in Illinois, causing localized damage primarily in the central part of the state.

Carter said a chainsaw crew from Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief would help residents clean up fallen trees in Sandersville.

Georgia communities were under intermittent tornado watches Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

Georgia media outlets reported scattered property damage across the state, including roofs blown off homes, downed trees, roads blocked by debris, and downed power lines that left many without electricity.

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Roger Alford is editor of the Christian Index.)