25 injured in Thursday tornado, officials say

The tornado that tore through Selma Thursday left 25 injured citizens in its path, officials said at a news conference Friday morning.

Acting Selma Fire Chief Franklin Edwards said that while no one died as a result of the tornado, one person was transferred to Birmingham because of their injuries. Edwards said firefighters from Selma and other cities are checking damaged housing to search for storm victims.

“This tornado divided our city in two,” Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. said at a Friday morning news conference. “It came through center of town, east to west in Dallas County and both ends of city.”

Perkins said the area’s power grid “was hit hard,” and Alabama Power Company is working hard to get power restored. About 19,000 homes lost power as the tornado left the city, and about 7,000 remained without power as of Friday morning, he said. Electricity returned to Broad Street Friday morning, so Selma City Hall is back in full operation, according to Perkins.

Dallas County Probate Judge and Commission Chairman Jimmy Nunn said that prisoners have been transported to other jails in the state because the Dallas County Jail was damaged by the tornado.

County crews are focusing on clearing roads so that citizens can get into and out of their neighborhoods, Nunn said. Once roads are cleared, county workers will be more available to help in the city of Selma, he said.

A dusk-to-dawn curfew remains in effect for Friday night, and looters will be prosecuted, according to police officials.