Two dead as fresh storms spawn tornado near Atlanta

By Matthew Bigg

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A tornado in northwest Georgia killed two people and injured others on Saturday, one day after a twister battered Atlanta's downtown, officials said.

One person died in Polk county and a second died in Floyd county, said Buzz Weiss of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. Both counties are on Georgia's border with Alabama.

A fresh tornado warning was also in effect for parts of Atlanta as well as parts of northeast Georgia at 4:05 p.m. EDT as the storms moved quickly east, the National Weather Service said.

"In addition to the threat of a tornado ... very large hail to the size of baseballs can be expected," the service said.

Workers were clearing debris in the heart of Atlanta following Friday night's storm, which damaged landmark buildings, overturned cars and injured dozens of people.

Some 30 people were taken to hospitals and one was in serious condition after the storm, which packed winds of 130 mph (216 kph), police and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said. Franklin declared a state of emergency in the city.

The tornado powered through as tens of thousands of basketball fans packed area stadiums to watch big games.

"It was a very significant, very serious storm. There's lots of damage. It's the first tornado of this type in the city for over 30 years," said Weiss.