BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A tornado touched down in north-central Alabama, including part of Birmingham, in the latest wave of severe weather that’s hammered the South during Christmas week.

The funnel was spotted by witnesses outside the city about 5 p.m. Friday. An hour later the National Weather service confirmed that first responders were on the scene along Jefferson Avenue, a working class neighborhood less than 10 miles from downtown Birmingham.

Lt. Sean Edwards, a Birmingham police spokesman, said trees are down and people were trapped inside damaged houses, adding that several people were taken to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries, but further details were not immediately available.

Ruthie Green went door-to-door in a coat and a bicycle helmet to check on neighbors after the storm and swept debris from her front porch as more emergency responders arrived in the neighborhood.

“I been listening to the news all day so I was kind of preparing,” Green said. When the tornado warning came up on her iPad, Green said she ran to a closet.