Selma picks up the pieces following dangerous tornado.

A damaged vehicle and debris are seen in the aftermath of severe weather, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, in Selma, Ala. A large tornado damaged homes and uprooted trees in Alabama on Thursday as a powerful storm system pushed through the South. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Butch Dill/AP

A giant, swirling storm system billowing across the South spurred a tornado in Selma. The system shredded the walls of homes, toppled roofs and uprooted trees. The National Weather Service in Birmingham says a large and extremely dangerous tornado caused damage as it moved through Selma. The weather service soon after issued a tornado emergency for several counties just north of the capital city of Montgomery as the same storm system moved eastward. The weather service says there are numerous reports of tree and structural damage in Selma. There are no immediate reports of deaths. Selma was a flashpoint of the Civil Rights movement. Alabama state troopers viciously attacked Black people advocating for voting rights as they marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965. Among those beaten by law officers was John Lewis, whose skull was fractured. He went on to a long and distinguished career as a U.S. congressman.

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Pat Duggins is news director for Alabama Public Radio.