CAMILLA, Ga. -- Tornadoes cut a swath through southwestern Georgia before dawn Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring more than 100 in Worth and Mitchell counties.
Two people were killed and several injured near Bridgeboro, a rural community in southern Worth County, said Sheriff Freddie Tompkins, who declined to release the names of the victims - a man and his mother.
Four others were killed in Mitchell County, said sheriff's office receptionist Mary Johnson. A 9-year-old and a baby were reported missing, but were found safe before noon, she said.
More than 100 people were injured in Mitchell County, said Ann Lamb, the county's emergency management director. Preliminary estimates were that 50 to 75 homes were destroyed, and another 75 damaged, she said.
Funnel clouds formed between 5:30 and 6 a.m., and there were one or two fully formed tornadoes, said meteorologist Paul Duval of the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Fla.
One tornado cut a streak about 10 miles long through Worth County, leaving a path of damage up to 300 yards wide, Worth County Sheriff Freddie Tompkins said.
"I was up in a helicopter this morning," Tompkins said. "It looked like a big lawnmower went through there."
About seven to nine homes were damaged, and three mobile homes were destroyed in Worth County. Tompkins said damages would be in the millions of dollars.
In Mitchell County, the twister carved a quarter-mile swath of damage south of Camilla, knocking down trees and destroying buildings.
This is the same area where a tornado struck on Valentine's Day 2000, killing 11 people in Camilla. It was one of three deadly twisters that ripped through the region before dawn, killing 20 people in all.
"It's a mess, but not quite as bad as last time," said Camilla water department employee Joseph Willingham, who estimated about 25 homes were damaged and five destroyed.
Dontressia Williams' house - built after the 2000 tornado on land that had been forested before then - was one of those destroyed Thursday. She and her 2-year-old daughter survived by taking refuge in an interior room.
"I was scared," she said. "As I was going into that room, things were falling in, glass was breaking."
Some of the victims lived in mobile homes.
Eric Moore's trailer was blown 100 yards away and crashed into a brick house. He survived the tornado by taking shelter in his mother's more-solid house across the street.
"I know I can't run from the Lord, but I think we'll be a lot safer if we get out of that mobile home" Moore said.
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A dog sniffs around the remains of a tornado-ravaged home in Camilla, Ga. Humane Society workers were searching through the rubble for pets.
TODD STONE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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About 50 people were treated at the Mitchell County Hospital in Camilla for serious head and chest injuries, broken bones and cuts, said hospital spokesman Rick Ivey. Others were taken to hospitals in Albany and Thomasville.
Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in Mitchell and Worth counties. He planned to visit Camilla on Thursday evening.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency was coordinating help efforts between the state, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, police and volunteers, said GEMA spokeswoman Lisa Ray.
"Probably a disaster resource center will be set up, so people can go in and have a one-stop place to see where assistance is available," Ray said. "There's probably some injuries down there we don't know about yet."
In Decatur County, south of the worst damage, roads were flooded and power lines were down, said Chief Sheriff's Deputy Jim Morris. One tornado touched down there, and Morris thinks it may be the same one that eventually ravaged Mitchell and Worth counties. About four houses were damaged but no serious injuries were reported.
