Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has issued a state of emergency for all counties in the state that were affected by Monday night's storms.
The governor issued the state of emergency early Tuesday, which went into effect at 8 a.m. By issuing the declaration, Ivey directed the Alabama Emergency Operations Plan and the appropriate agencies to help the agencies in Jacksonville and surrounding areas. The Alabama Emergency Management Agency's State Emergency Operations Center is also activated with the declaration.
The state of emergency includes Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Walker, and Winston counties.
Her declaration comes after hail and tornadoes were reported during storms last night. The worst damage, according to Alabama Power, was reported in Jacksonville, Southside, Ashville, Heflin, Ohatchee, Muscadine, Wellington, and Springville.
The power company said when the heaviest of the storms hit, more than 22,000 customers lost power. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, thousands were still without power, including the JSU campus.
There was damage across the Jacksonville State University campus, and four people were injured in the city. Students were on spring break this week, and JSU officials said the campus is closed to the public while engineers evaluate school buildings that were damaged.
There have been no reported fatalies caused by the storms.
Ivey will visit the northeastern areas of the state in both Calhoun and Etowah counties this afternoon. According to her press secretary, Ivey will be traveling to Jacksonville and Southside to tour damage there. Times will be released later this morning.