Tornado barrels through Alabama town

A twister knocked a tree onto a home in Fultondale, Ala., killing a teenage boy and critically injuring several family members, police said Tuesday. The tornado in the northern suburb of Birmingham left a 10-mile path of destruction and injured at least 30 people.

How long will recovery take? Search and rescue efforts were ongoing on Tuesday in affected neighborhoods. The tornado flattened houses, knocked down utility lines, and scattered rubble across the area. Fultondale Fire Chief Justin McKenzie said 18 people were hospitalized. Several schools were closed on Tuesday, the county’s emergency management agency tweeted. The school superintendent said the high school sustained enough damage that students may not return to classrooms this year.

Dig deeper: Read Jamie Dean’s report about the recovery process after a tornado struck the same area in 2011 amid a spate of twisters across the South.