atlanta - storm - United States

Severe storm hits Atlanta

Saturday 15 March 2008

A powerful storm, perhaps even a tornado, struck downtown Atlanta on Wednesday night. It caused several injuries, damaged buildings and knocked down trees.

ATLANTA, March 14 (Reuters) - A possible tornado hit downtown
Atlanta on Friday night, causing several injuries and damaging
buildings, including the roof of the Georgia Dome where thousands
were watching a college basketball game, police and witnesses
said.
 

Nine people were taken to hospitals, one in serious condition,
as a result of the heavy storm, police said.
 

Police evacuated the multi-story Omni hotel, which shares a
building with the CNN Center, after high winds smashed many
windows and scattered debris including furniture into the street
below.
 

Winds also broke some windows at the CNN Center and damaged
part of the library, the television network said.
 

Officials temporarily halted the game between Mississippi
State and the University of Alabama at the nearby Georgia Dome
as high winds damaged the roof, sparking alarm and causing a
large monitor hanging high above the court to sway ominously.
 

A later game in the same stadium was postponed.
 

The heavy rain and lightning storm started north of the city
and swept through downtown about 9:45 p.m. (0145 GMT on Saturday),
downing trees and overturning cars, witnesses said.
 

Some 19,000 homes lost power from the storm, Georgia Power
officials said.
 

Some witnesses said they heard a sound like a freight train
when the storm hit and saw a funnel-shaped cloud, which could
denote a tornado.
 

"I am very certain that it was a tornado from what I have
seen," one female hotel resident told a local television
station. She described watching a whirling circle of debris higher
than her 12th-story hotel room.
 

There was no official confirmation of a tornado. Tornadoes
occur frequently in parts of the U.S. South but serious damage
from them is rare in major U.S. cities.
 

Thousands of spectators were also attending a National
Basketball Association game between the Los Angeles Clippers
and Atlanta Hawks at the Philips Arena, adjacent to the CNN
Center complex. The game ended at about 10 p.m. (0200 GMT on
Saturday).
 

Police said other buildings in downtown Atlanta were also
damaged. By 1 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Saturday, there was still
scattered thunder over the city.