2 Killed As Storms, Tornadoes Pound Georgia

ATLANTA -- National Weather Service officials were expected to be in northwest Georgia Sunday to determine whether a tornado was responsible for the deaths of two people who died during severe storms Saturday.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported a woman in Polk County died when a storm demolished her home and threw her and her husband into a field. An elderly man in neighboring Floyd County was killed by flying debris while sitting in his home.

The storms came a day after a tornado hit downtown Atlanta and sent more than two dozen people to the hospital.

The twister brought 130-mph winds and cut a six-mile path of destruction through the city. The storm damaged the Georgia Dome, Phillips Arena, CNN Center and the Georgia World Congress Center.

The state's insurance commissioner estimated Friday's damage at up to $200 million.

State Of Emergency Declared

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin declared a state of emergency in the city on Saturday and urged people to stay indoors.

All events scheduled for downtown Atlanta on Saturday, including a St. Patrick's Day parade, were canceled.

Saturday morning the National Weather Service confirmed that the storm was an EF2 strength tornado that stretched for six miles and tore a path through downtown Atlanta. An EF2 tornado brings winds of between 120 and 130 mph.

The tornado smashed skyscraper windows, sucked furniture and luggage out of hotel rooms, crumbled part of an apartment building and rattled the rafters of two major sports arenas filled with basketball fans.

"It was crazy. There was a lot of windows breaking and stuff falling," said Terrence Evans, a valet who was about to park a car at the Omni Hotel when the apparent twister hit.

A tornado warning had been issued for downtown a few minutes before.

A spokesman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency said at least 27 people were taken to area hospitals, although none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the most recent tornado to hit a major city's downtown was on Aug. 12, 2004, in Jacksonville, Fla. Downtown tornadoes have also struck Fort Worth, Texas; Salt Lake City, Little Rock, Ark.; and Nashville, Tenn., in the past decade.

Friday night's tornado is the first in recorded history to hit downtown Atlanta, according to the National Weather Service. The last tornado to strike inside the city was in 1975, and it hit the governor's mansion north of downtown.