FAIRFIELD, Ala. — Birmingham and its surrounding communities experienced intense storms today that caused several injuries and serious property damage. At least four people have been injured and power lines around the metro area are down, according to the Birmingham Police.

James Spann of ABC 33/40 reported that a funnel cloud was spotted in the afternoon where there was damage to an Express Oil Change, KFC Restaurant, and ABC Store in Fairfield. Fairfield Police Chief Nick Dyer told Al.com that four people at those locations were taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

The National Weather Service reported a tornado first seen by Birmingham air traffic controllers. No additional information about that tornado is known as this time.

Al.com reports that 12,000 Alabama Power customers near Birmingham are currently without service. The company said that most of the outages are in the Midfield and Pratt City areas.

Birmingham PD also noted that several traffic lights around the city are inoperative, including some near Interstate 20/59.