Boy, 5, dies after tree falls onto DeKalb County home as screaming mother is rescued

A FIVE-year-old boy has died after a freak accident saw a tree fall onto his home.

Fire officials were able to rescue the boy's mother, however, found the child deceased after he became trapped by the tree.

The horrific incident took place at around 5.40am at a home in DeKalb County, .

Fire Captain Jaeson Daniels told the : "When they arrived they heard a person screaming, they were able to rescue a mother virtually unharmed.

"She complained of no injuries, but the child was deceased."

He added that the tree fell on the center of the home, which make recovery efforts harder.

Crews will have to secure the structure before they can remove the child's body, the captain said.

“There is so much destruction,” Daniels said. “It really just split the house in half.”

A wind advisory is now in effect in the area until midday.

Officials are not yet sure what caused the tree to fall, but heavy rain over the weekend left the ground extremely saturated.

The Atlanta area recorded more than six inches of rainfall in December - and another 1.33 inches fell yesterday.

Wind gusts up to 44mph were recorded overnight, as snow and wintry mix blasted over the region.

A series of storms moved through the greater Atlanta area on Friday afternoon, leaving some damage including overturned cars.

They came on a day when the National Weather Service had issued some tornado warnings in north Georgia and areas near Atlanta.

The weather service urged people in a wide swath of Georgia to remain alert for any severe weather through Saturday.