Tornado hits downtown Atlanta, dozens hurt

By Matthew Bigg

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Workers cleared wreckage from downtown Atlanta on Saturday after a tornado struck the city, overturning cars, damaging numerous buildings and injuring dozens of people.

Around 30 people were taken to hospital and one was in serious condition after the storm, police said.

"It's 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," Buzz Weiss, spokesman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said in an interview.

Tornadoes rarely hit major U.S. cities but Friday night's storm powered through as tens of thousands of basketball fans packed stadiums to watch a series of big games.

Police evacuated the multistory Omni Hotel, which shares a building with the CNN Center, after high winds smashed many windows and spilled debris into the street below.

Winds also broke windows and caused damage at the CNN Center, the television network's headquarters, CNN said.

The storm hit the most prominent section of downtown Atlanta, which houses major attractions such as CNN, the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Aquarium and the new World of Coca-Cola.

Those buildings are clustered around Centennial Olympic Park, which was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics.