Tornado kills one dead, injures second near Starmont

UPDATE: Anita Rembert was killed and her husband, Curtis, injured when an EF1 tornado struck their mobile home early Thursday morning. Children in the home were uninjured.

National Weather Service officials estimated the tornado was 400 yard wide and traveled 1.3 miles. The most devastating damage was where it touched down at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 43 and Alabama 54 near the Starmont community. Another mobile home that was unoccupied also was destroyed.

Marengo County EMA director Kevin McKinney said the Rembert home was properly tied down; the unoccupied home was not. When the neighboring home blew apart, “the force of the first trailer was more than the second one could take.” Kinney said.

Officials from the Demopolis Police and the Demopolis Fire and Rescue departments said Curtis Rembert was transported to Whitfield Regional Hospital suffering from a broken leg.