Saturday, April 30, 2011 9:07:16 AM
Storms leave trail of death, destruction across South
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 30, 2011 -- Updated 0953 GMT (1753 HKT)
(CNN) -- The storm system that plowed through the South left scenes of destruction described as "surreal" and "sickening" by those who saw them. Authorities were working to reach those trapped; some states are facing a long and arduous recovery. Here's a look at the latest confirmed death toll as provided by state authorities as well as reports from some of the worst-hit areas.
OFFICIAL STATE DEATH TOLLS FOR APRIL 27-28 TORNADOES
Alabama - 254
Tennessee - 34
Mississippi - 33
Georgia - 15
Virginia - 5
Arkansas - 1
TOTAL - 342
Source: State officials
ALABAMA
The death toll from the severe weather in Alabama has claimed the lives of at least 254 people, according to state emergency officials. The state Emergency Management Agency reported two additional deaths, one in DeKalb County that brings the total number of deaths there to 33; and, another in Jefferson County bringing the total number of deaths there to 20.
Tuscaloosa city officials reported 45 deaths as of Friday afternoon, but later revised that to 39 because of a counting error. That change was not immediately reflected in the state's total. Almost 1,000 people were treated for injuries in the city and 446 people were unaccounted for, although not necessarily missing.
President Barack Obama and the first family toured Tuscaloosa on Friday. Obama met with Gov. Robert Bentley and families affected by the storms, and promised expedited emergency assistance to the devastated region.
"We're going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," he told reporters.
Medical personnel treated more than 1,700 injured people. Thirty-one of the state's 67 counties were affected by the tornadoes and storms.
Bentley declared a statewide state of emergency and mobilized approximately 2,000 Alabama National Guardsmen to provide emergency assistance.
Obama signed Alabama's Emergency Declaration and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.
-- Tuscaloosa: Mayor Walter Maddox described a surreal scene as the twister plowed through: "There were parts of the city I literally didn't recognize," he told CNN's Eliot Spitzer. "We have hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed, and hundreds more damaged.
-- Birmingham: Severe damage was reported in Birmingham's western suburbs; Hueytown, Concord and Pleasant Grove saw "catastrophic damage," said Hueytown Police Chief Chuck Hagler. "I don't think you understand the scale of the devastation," he said.
-- Hackleburg: Almost 30 people died in this town in northwest Alabama, according to the sheriff. Schools, businesses and homes were destroyed.
-- Cullman: What was thought to be a tornado damaged a hospital, ripped the roof off the courthouse and pummeled a number of residences, authorities said. One person was killed in Hanceville when a tree fell on a car.
Counties reporting deaths, according to state authorities:
Bibb -- 1
Calhoun -- 9
Cullman -- 2
DeKalb -- 33
Elmore -- 6
Fayette -- 4
Franklin -- 27
Hale -- 4
Jackson -- 8
Jefferson -- 20
Lawrence -- 14
Limestone -- 4
Madison -- 7
Marion -- 35
Marshall -- 5
St. Clair -- 13
Tallapoosa -- 3
Tuscaloosa -- 45
Walker -- 14
TENNESSEE
Tennessee emergency officials reported 34 deaths and 107 injuries. Serious flooding was reported in areas of western Tennessee, and more than 130,000 were without power.
-- Chattanooga: A 41-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her mobile home, according to WDEF. Her husband and son told investigators they were taking shelter in a closet when she walked over to a window and was crushed when the tree fell. In Chickamauga Lake, north of Chattanooga, no one was injured when a funnel cloud smashed into the Camp Columbus RV park, destroying several vehicles. Resident John Tripp told CNN affiliate WTVC that he saw the massive tornado form, taking up water as it crossed the lake, before it smashed into the campground.
-- Apison: Eight deaths were reported in this community east of Chattanooga. Twenty-eight people were taken to hospitals.
GEORGIA
The death toll in Georgia stands at 15, officials said Friday. Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency in 16 counties. The state reported 115 injuries. The state has concluded search operations, is conducting preliminary damage estimates and has done aerial surveys.
-- Catoosa County: Eight deaths occurred here, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. Three were confirmed in the town of Ringgold, according to the Catoosa County Coroner. The town in northwest Georgia has been hit particularly hard, with some buildings entirely demolished, Major Gary Sisk said. In Ringgold, the storm appeared to pick and choose its targets. Some homes were left virtually unscathed, or perhaps had minor roof damage. Others had no roof at all. Still more homes were simply gone, vanished into a pile of rubble. "It just looks like confetti," emergency management spokeswoman Lisa Janak said Friday, adding 300 homes were lost in the county.
-- Dade County: Two people were confirmed dead in Trenton, according to Georgia's Emergency Management Agency.
-- Spalding County: The sheriff's department confirmed two fatalities. State officials said numerous homes were severely damaged.
-- Lamar County: The state confirmed two deaths.
-- Rabun County: One death.
MISSISSIPPI
The death toll from severe weather in Mississippi has risen to 34, according to state emergency officials. More than 150 injuries were reported. One of the 33 deaths was on Tuesday. Another was a firefighter who died Friday after collapsing while clearing storm debris.
President Obama signed a disaster declaration for Clarke, Greene, Hinds, Jasper, Kemper, Lafayette and Monroe counties, making individuals living there eligible for federal funds.
Damage was reported in 50 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. Damage assessments were still ongoing, but as of Friday afternoon damage was reported to 1,572 homes. Of those, 551 were deemed destroyed or having suffered major damage.
-- Monroe County: At least 14 people were killed in the town of Smithville. Fourteen people there were still missing Friday afternoon.
-- McComb: A falling tree killed a 3-year-old girl who was asleep in her bed in the southwest Mississippi town, according to CNN affiliate WLBT in Jackson.
-- Kemper County: Three deaths were confirmed in the western Mississippi county, MEMA said.
VIRGINIA
The death toll from severe weather in Virginia was revised downward from eight to five, according to state emergency officials. Severe storms struck the counties of Goochland, Halifax, Shenandoah and Washington, among others. Four fatalities in Washington County and one in Halifax County have been confirmed, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
CNN Radio's Matt Cherry and CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/04/30/severe.weather.glance/ [with comment]
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Obama promises help to rebuild tornado-hit South
Robbie Thomas wipes her eyes as she recalls her experiences in the Rosedale Courts housing complex, in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 29, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Lee Celano
By Verna Gates and Alister Bull
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama | Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:55pm EDT
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama promised federal aid on Friday to the tornado-ravaged South, where deadly twisters have killed at least 339 people and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Obama toured smashed homes and met survivors on a visit to the worst-hit state, Alabama. It was one of seven southern states mauled by recent tornadoes and storms which have caused insured losses of between $2 billion and $5 billion, according to one catastrophe risk modeler's estimate.
"We are going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," Obama told reporters in Tuscaloosa, a university city in Alabama that was devastated by the tornadoes.
The destruction inflicted this week by the twisters, which flattened whole neighborhoods, was the deadliest natural catastrophe since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
"I have never seen devastation like this. It is heartbreaking," said Obama, accompanied by his wife Michelle and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley. "This is something I don't think anyone has seen before."
In Alabama, emergency officials again raised the death toll from the tornadoes in that state, to 238. Bentley said 1,700 people were injured.
At least 101 more deaths were reported across Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia and Louisiana.
Children were among the victims.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said it was feared the number of deaths would rise as states searched for many people unaccounted for. But the number of missing was not clear.
"We can't bring those who've been lost back. They're alongside God at this point ... but the property damage, which is obviously extensive, that's something we can do something about," Obama said.
"With initial reports of buildings destroyed approaching 10,000, property insurance losses are expected to range from $2 to $5 Billion," catastrophe risk modeling company EQECAT said.
"Tornado activity in April is putting 2011 into the record books," it said, adding that the recent tornado outbreak had involved "hundreds of touchdowns, some tornado tracks reported to be almost a mile wide and tens of miles long causing hundreds of fatalities".
Obama was eager to show that federal relief is on its way and that he is not taking the disaster lightly. His predecessor George W. Bush was fiercely criticized for what was viewed as a slow response to Hurricane Katrina.
Flying into Tuscaloosa aboard Air Force One, Obama and his family saw a wide brown scar of devastation several miles (kilometers) long and hundreds of yards (meters) wide.
Tuscaloosa resident Jack Fagan, 23, was glad that Obama saw the damage. "Perhaps federal funds will help us, but I'm sure it will take longer than they say because it always does."
Recovery could cost billions of dollars and even with federal disaster aid it could complicate efforts by affected states to bounce back from recession.
Tornadoes are a regular feature of life in the U.S. South and Midwest, but they are rarely so devastating.
NUCLEAR PLANT SHUT, INDUSTRIES DAMAGED
The tornadoes hit Alabama's poultry industry -- the state is the No. 3 U.S. chicken producer -- and hurt other manufacturers in the state.
They also halted coal production at the Cliffs Natural Resources mine in Alabama.
The second-biggest U.S. nuclear power plant, the Browns Ferry facility in Alabama, may be down for weeks after its power was knocked out and the plant automatically shut, avoiding a nuclear disaster, officials said.
Apparel producer VF Corp, owner of clothing brands such as North Face and Wrangler Jeans, said one of its jeanswear distribution centers, located in Hackleburg, Alabama, was destroyed and one employee killed.
In Tuscaloosa, the twisters, including one a mile-wide, cut a path of destruction, reducing houses to rubble, flipping cars and knocking out utilities. The death count was expected to rise with many bodies still trapped under debris.
"We are bringing in the cadaver dogs today," said Heather McCollum, assistant to Tuscaloosa's mayor. She put the death toll in the city at 42 but said it could rise.
Of the more than 150 tornadoes that rampaged from west to east across the South this week, the National Weather Service confirmed that one that struck Smithville in Mississippi's Monroe County on Wednesday was a rare EF-5 tornado, with winds reaching 205 miles per hour.
This is the highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale that measures tornado intensity.
"The homes here are made well ... but when you are talking about a direct hit, it does not matter," Monroe County Sheriff Andy Hood said. "Right now, those homes are slabs of concrete. There is nothing left."
Across the South, many people were made homeless by the tornadoes and stayed in shelters. Some residents provided food, water and supplies to neighbors whose homes were destroyed.
Tuscaloosa resident Antonio Donald, 50, received help. "I got no light, no water. I have a newborn baby at home, a daughter who is pregnant and an 88-year-old aunt," he said.
The storms left up to 1 million homes in Alabama without power. Water and garbage collection services were also disrupted in some areas.
Alabama's Jefferson County, which is fighting to avoid what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, suffered damage and 19 dead but said the storms would have little direct impact on its struggling finances because federal grants were expected.
(Additional reporting by Peggy Gargis in Birmingham and Colleen Jenkins in St. Petersburg, Leigh Coleman in Mississippi, Phil Wahba in New York; writing by Matthew Bigg and Pascal Fletcher, Editing by Paul Simao)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/us-usa-weather-idUSTRE73S3Q320110429 [with comments]
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Twister toll at 337; 2nd-deadliest outbreak in US
Authorities say the fatality toll from the devastating tornadoes across the South has climbed to 337, making it the second-deadliest day for a twister outbreak in U.S. history.
The Associated Press
Originally published Friday, April 29, 2011 at 3:48 AM [and obviously updated since, last at c. 10pm PDT 4/30/11]
CLANTON, Ala. —
Authorities say the fatality toll from the devastating tornadoes across the South has climbed to 337, making it the second-deadliest day for a twister outbreak in U.S. history.
The largest death toll ever was on March 18, 1925, when 747 people were killed in storms that raged through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
Alabama was in the path of the most destruction this time with at least 246 deaths. Authorities on Saturday raised the total number of confirmed dead in several states to 337.
The second deadliest day had been in March 1932, when 332 people died, all in Alabama.
The 1925 outbreak was long before Doppler radar could warn communities of severe weather. Forecasters say residents were warned, but the twisters were too powerful to avoid the horrifying body count.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014905534_apussevereweather.html
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South reels in aftermath of tornado disaster
President Obama toured wreckage in Tuscaloosa, Ala., yesterday. Up to 1 million Alabama homes and businesses remained without power following Wednesday’s tornado outbreak, which killed dozens of people in Tuscaloosa.
(Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)
Death toll hits 328; rescuers’ efforts stymied
By Jay Reeves and Greg Bluestein
Associated Press / April 30, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Southerners found their emergency safety net shredded yesterday as they tried to emerge from the nation’s deadliest tornado disaster since [before] the Great Depression.
Emergency buildings are wiped out. Bodies are stored in refrigerated trucks. Authorities are begging for such basics as flashlights. In one neighborhood, the storms even left firefighters to work without a truck.
The death toll from Wednesday’s storms reached 328 across seven states, including 238 in Alabama, making it the deadliest US tornado outbreak since March 1932, when another Alabama storm killed 332 people. Tornadoes that swept across the South and Midwest in April 1974 left 315 people dead.
Hundreds if not thousands of people were injured — 900 in Tuscaloosa alone — and as many as 1 million Alabama homes and businesses remained without power.
The scale of the disaster astonished President Obama when he arrived in the state yesterday.
“I’ve never seen devastation like this,’’ he said, standing in bright sunshine amid the wreckage in Tuscaloosa, where dozens of people were killed and entire neighborhoods were flattened.
At least one tornado — a 205 miles-per-hour monster that left at least 13 people dead in Smithville, Miss. — ranked in the National Weather Service’s most devastating category, EF-5. Meteorologist Jim LaDue said he expects “many more’’ of Wednesday’s tornadoes to receive that same rating, with winds topping 200 miles per hour.
Tornadoes struck with unexpected speed in several states, and the difference between life and death was hard to fathom. Four people died in Bledsoe County, Tenn., but a family survived being tossed across a road in their modular home, which was destroyed, Mayor Bobby Collier said.
By yesterday, residents whose homes were blown to pieces were seeing their losses worsen, not by nature, but by man. In Tuscaloosa and other cities, looters have been picking through the wreckage to steal what little the victims have left.
“The first night they took my jewelry, my watch, my guns,’’ Shirley Long said yesterday. “They were out here again last night doing it again.’’
Overwhelmed Tuscaloosa police imposed a curfew and got help from National Guard troops to try to stop the scavenging.
Along their flattened paths, the twisters blew down police and fire stations and other emergency buildings along with homes, businesses, churches, and power infrastructure. The number of buildings lost, damage estimates, and number of people left homeless remained unclear two days later, in part because the storm also ravaged communications systems.
Yesterday, tales of survival emerged across the region. A Georgia salon owner and her two daughters — Sky and Stormy — climbed inside a tanning bed while a tornado ripped the roof off their business. A Virginia couple scrambled under their garage’s wooden steps after a twister ripped off their home’s roof. Mississippi mobile home park residents found shelter in a Baptist church, clinging to one another as the building disintegrated.
Those who escaped the twisters hid in bathrooms, cramped closets, under porches, and even in a car entombed by a collapsing basement garage. Many tell tales of having just minutes or mere seconds to make life-and-death decisions.
University of Alabama student Shaylyndrea Jones rode out a monstrous tornado in the hallway of a second-floor apartment that shook violently as whole city blocks of Tuscaloosa were chewed up.
“We were saying our prayers as it was coming down the street. There was a rumbling and this loud woosh,’’ she said. At least 36 were killed in the college town.
The sturdy tanning bed saved Lisa Rice, owner of S&L Tans in Trenton, Ga., and her daughters, 19-year-old Stormy and 21-year-old Sky.
“Sky said, ‘We’re going to die.’ But, I said, ‘No, just pray. Just pray, just pray, just pray,’ ’’ Lisa Rice said.
For 30 seconds, wind rushed around the bed and debris flew.
“Then it just stopped. It got real quiet. We waited a few minutes and then opened up the bed and we saw daylight,’’ she said.
Jerry Stewart, a 63-year-old retired firefighter of suburban Birmingham survived under his front porch with his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren.
“They said the storm was in Tuscaloosa and it would be here in 15 minutes,’’ he said. “And before I knew it, it was here.’’
Stewart pulled the bodies of two neighbors from the rubble of a home ripped off its foundation.
Teacher Victoria Mattox, 29, was asleep in Barnesville, Ga., when a friend texted her at 12:42 a.m. Thursday telling her the sirens were going off in town. She leapt from bed and made it to her closet just in time. Seconds later she could feel her house shaking under battering winds. Windows popped out in the adjoining bedroom and then the ceiling peeled off above her head.
Within seconds, it was over and the closet where she had hunkered down was the only part of the house left standing, a large tree uprooted and arched over it.
© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/04/30/south_reels_in_aftermath_of_tornado_disaster/ [with comment]
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Rescue efforts transition to recovery in hard-hit Alabama
Video [embedded]
Obama tours Alabama storm damage
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 30, 2011 -- Updated 0337 GMT (1137 HKT)
Tuscaloosa, Alabama (CNN) -- Hopes of finding trapped survivors dwindled Friday evening in Alabama, the epicenter of storms that obliterated neighborhoods and towns and claimed scores of lives across the South.
Gov. Robert Bentley, speaking in Birmingham, said the long road to recovery will now begin.
"We've gotten past the rescue stage," Bentley said. "We have begun the recovery stage."
Earlier Friday, President Barack Obama toured rubble-strewn neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa, declaring the devastation brought by a series of powerful storms and tornadoes was beyond anything he had ever seen.
The storms killed at least 326 people in six states and left entire neighborhoods in ruins. Obama promised expedited federal aid to states affected by the tornadoes.
Has the severe weather affected you? Share stories, photos and video with iReport.
"We're going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," he said.
Wednesday's outbreak of severe weather brought what the National Weather Service categorized as a rare EF-5 tornado to one Mississippi town.
And according to the weather service, it's possible another twister was on the ground for 200 miles from Mississippi through Alabama.
The extent of the devastation became evident by Friday, when the death count in Marion County in northwest Alabama rose from three to 21, according to the state Emergency Management Agency. It said 20 people were missing.
Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams put the number even higher -- 29 people dead in the city of Hackleburg and six in Hamilton. The Hackleburg fatalities included 16 on the scene and 13 who died at several hospitals, he told CNN.
"It's pretty much wiped out," Williams said of the town. "It looks like a war zone."
The possible tornadoes destroyed a Wrangler clothing plant, a pharmacy, doctor's office and three schools, officials said.
Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia and Louisiana
Alabama suffered the greatest of loss of life, with fatalities in 19 counties confirmed by the state Emergency Management Agency. The agency reported Friday evening that the state's death toll had risen to at least 238.
In Tuscaloosa, Obama's motorcade passed street after street of homes reduced to splinters, crushed and flipped cars, and widespread debris on the way to his first stop to visit with families affected by the storms that pounded the region Wednesday and Thursday.
"I've gotta say I've never seen devastation like this," Obama told reporters.
Tuscaloosa city officials reported 45 deaths as of Friday afternoon, but later revised that to 39 because of a counting error. That change was not immediately reflected in the state's total.
Nearly 450 people were unaccounted for Friday afternoon in the city, although they were not necessarily missing.
The president's visit took place as emergency responders in Alabama and five other states continued to assess the damage wreaked by one of the worst outbreaks of violent weather in the southeastern United States in decades, experts said. The storms leveled neighborhoods, rendered major roads impassable and left nearly 800,000 customers still without power Friday evening.
CNN iReporter Stephen Bozek, a broadcast news major at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, snapped a photo of a U.S. flag affixed to an overturned vehicle.
"The neighborhood is torn to pieces and the flag flying represented the unity (of) this town," Bozek wrote.
In Mississippi, where 34 were confirmed dead, Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters that some people remain unaccounted for and rescuers could still find bodies in the rubble or in the waters surrounding Smithville, where 14 of the state's known death's occurred.
He said the city was a scene of "utter obliteration."
On Friday, the National Weather Service said the tornado that struck Smithville on Wednesday was an EF-5 storm with peak winds of 205 mph. The last such tornado recorded in the United States struck May 25, 2008, in Parkersburg, Iowa.
The tornado, the Weather Service said, destroyed 18 homes, a post office, a police station and a water treatment system. In addition to the 14 deaths, it caused 40 injuries, the weather service said.
Obama issued a federal disaster declaration for seven Mississippi counties.
The storms also left 34 people dead in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, five in Virginia and one in Arkansas.
In Alabama, emergency management officials said Friday that 35 teams have been deployed to Tuscaloosa and six other counties hit hardest by the storms to assist in recovery efforts.
Officials also warned Tennessee motorists not to cross the Alabama state line without filling up their tanks first. Widespread power outages and devastation from the storms have likely rendered functioning gas stations in northern Alabama hard to find, according to a statement released by officials in both states.
The storms cut swaths of death and destruction along U.S. Highway 72 in northern Alabama and Interstate 59 from Tuscaloosa County to the northeastern corner of the state.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox said at least one strong tornado swept through the city, leaving dozens of roads impassable and destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.
"It literally obliterated blocks and blocks of the city," Maddox said.
The city remained under a curfew for Friday night that was scheduled to expire at 6 a.m. Saturday. City officials early Friday also advised Tuscaloosa residents who live south of the Black Warrior River and east of McFarland Boulevard to boil their tap water.
Obama had signed a disaster declaration for Alabama, which enables storm victims and damaged businesses in eight counties to seek federal aid.
Such aid will be critical, Birmingham Mayor William Bell told CNN affiliate WBMA.
"It's beyond our local resources so we're going to have to get the federal government involved," Bell said. "The president assured us that he would do that."
The storms are being compared to the "super outbreak" of tornadoes on April 3 and 4, 1974, Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, said Thursday.
In that period, 148 tornadoes were reported in 13 states, and 330 people died. States affected were Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
[more at] http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/04/29/severe.weather/ [with comments]
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THE AFTERMATH: Staff accounts of the Tuscaloosa tornado
A misplaced family is assisted by emergency responders near 15th St. in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011.
Tuscaloosa News Staff Photo | Dusty Compton
Staff Report Published: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 10:17 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 10:17 p.m.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110427/NEWS/110429711/1007/NEWS02 [with comments]
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A season of devastation, a sense of community
9:19 am April 28, 2011
http://blogs.ajc.com/cynthia-tucker/2011/04/28/a-season-of-devastation-a-sense-of-community/?cxntfid=blogs_cynthia_tucker [with comments]
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April 2011 tornado information
Updated, April 29, 2011, 4:50 p.m. EDT
April 27-28, 2011, tornado outbreak statistics
NOAA's preliminary estimate is that there were 211 tornadoes on April 27-28, 2011.
• During the multi-day period of April 26-28, The National Weather Service (NWS) estimates there were a total of 288 tornadoes.
• NWS issued outlooks five days in advance, watches hours in advance, and tornado warnings with an average lead time of 24 minutes. NWS issued warnings for more than 90 percent of these tornadoes.
• The largest previous number of tornadoes on record in one event occurred from April 3-4, 1974, with 148 tornadoes.
Current media reports indicate the death toll is 318 people, and rising. This makes the event the third deadliest tornado outbreak on record.
• The April 27-28, 2011, tornado outbreak is the deadliest since the March 21, 1932, tornado outbreak that had 332 fatalities.
• Based on combined NOAA, historical research records and current fatality estimates, the April 27-28, 2011, tornado outbreak ranks 6th in single day total fatalities in the United States history. The historic research records extend back to 1680.
• The deadliest single tornado on record was the Tri-State Tornado (Mo., Ill., Ind.) on March 18, 1925, when 695 died.
• Based on combined NOAA and historical research records, the deadliest single day for tornadoes was March 18, 1925, with 747 fatalities across 7 states (including the Tri State Tornado).
Month of April 2011 (and record monthly) tornado statistics
NWS’s preliminary estimate is that there have been more than 600 tornadoes thus far during the month of April 2011.
• The previous record number of tornadoes during the month of April was 267 tornadoes set in April 1974.
• The previous record number of tornadoes during any month was 542 tornadoes set in May 2003.
• The average number of tornadoes for the month of April during the past decade is around 160.
2011 Year-to-Date (and record annual) statistics
NWS’s preliminary estimate is that there have been 835 tornadoes so far this year.
• The previous yearly record number of tornadoes was set in 2004 with 1,817.
• May is historically the most active month for tornadoes.
NWS Weather Forecast Offices serving affected areas
Click on the office websites for links to the latest on damage surveys and other local info. related to tornadoes that occurred in their areas of responsibility:
Albany, N.Y.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/aly/index.php
Atlanta/Peachtree City, Ga.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/
Binghamton, N.Y.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/bgm/index.php
Birmingham, Ala.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/
Blacksburg, Va.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/
Columbia, S.C.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/cae/
Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gsp/index.php
Huntsville, Ala.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hun/
Indianapolis, Ind.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/
Jackson, Miss.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/
Louisville, Ky.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/
Memphis, Tenn.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/meg/
Mobile, Ala.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/
Morristown, Tenn.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mrx/
Nashville, Tenn.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ohx/
Paducah, Ky.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/
State College, Pa.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/ctp/index.php
Sterling, Va.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/index.php
Tallahassee, Fla.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/tae/
Wakefield, Va.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/akq/index.php
Wilmington, Ohio
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/index.php
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/april_2011_tornado_information.html
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NSSL product captures April 27 tornado outbreak storm rotation tracks
Bright reds, oranges and yellows show tracks of where rotation was strongest as detected by NWS Doppler radars during the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak.
Apr 29th, 2011 | By Susan Cobb
NSSL has released an image documenting the rotation tracks of the devastating tornadoes on April 27. Bright reds and yellows show more intense circulations.
The image of the rotation tracks was produced by the On Demand Severe Weather Verification System, part of NSSL’s Warning Decision Support System – Integrated Information (WDSS-II) Multi-Radar/Multi Sensor platform. On Demand is a web-based tool that can be used to help confirm when and where severe weather occurred.
On Demand uses data gathered and sorted by WDSS-II to estimate the tracks of rotating storms and where hail fell. The rotation tracks or hail swath data can be overlaid on high-resolution street maps in Google Earth/Maps to pinpoint areas affected by the hazardous weather.
The WDSS-II system receives data in real-time from the nationwide networks of weather radars, satellites, surface observations and lightning detectors. WDSS-II then processes, analyzes and displays the data in a way that is useful to people who need to diagnose severe weather quickly.
The platform is available to the public online, and is being used by several local American Red Cross chapters, emergency managers and National Weather Service Forecast Offices for disaster assessment and response.
To create your own maps, go to: http://ondemand.nssl.noaa.gov/
© 2011 NOAA Weather Partners
http://www.norman.noaa.gov/2011/04/nssl-product-captures-april-27-tornado-outbreak-storm-rotation-tracks/
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Monthly Severe Weather Summary
April 2011
*Data is preliminary and subject to revision
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/monthly/1104_summary.html [with Daily Tabulation and State Tabulation]
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The 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html
The 15 Deadliest U.S. Tornado Days since 1950
by Calendar Day: Midnight-Midnight CST
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/fataldy2.htm
The 15 Deadliest U.S. Tornado Days since 1950
by Convective Period: 12 UTC - 12 UTC
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/fatalday.htm
The Online Tornado FAQ
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/index.html
Websites Dedicated to Specific Tornado Events
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/torpages.html
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NASA satellites capture photos and video of tornado outbreak
Credit: NASA
Credit: NASA
Credit: NASA
[via/more at] http://www.examiner.com/natural-disasters-in-national/nasa-satellites-capture-photos-and-video-of-tornado-outbreak [including video next below embedded at http://www.examiner.com/natural-disasters-in-national/nasa-satellite-animation-of-the-deadly-severe-weather-system-the-southern-u-s-video ]
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Severe Tornado Outbreak in the Southern United States, April 26-28, 2011
Uploaded by NASAEarthObservatory on Apr 28, 2011
April 27 and April 28, 2011, brought the deadliest tornado outbreak in the United States since 1974 [per latest, since 1925]. By dawn on April 28, at least 250 people had been killed in 6 states. Alabama was the hardest hit state, with 162 confirmed dead as of Thursday morning. This animation shows the development of the weather system that spurred the widespread deadly tornadoes.
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Tornado-ravaged communities tally their losses
The path of a tornado that destroyed much of Tuscaloosa, Ala., is seen from the air.
(Christine Prichard / European Pressphoto Agency / April 29, 2011)
In hard-hit DeKalb County, Ala., where 33 people died, residents help one another with shelters and the cleanup. In Tuscaloosa, the mayor says the city is living a 'nightmare.'
April 29, 2011, 7:19 p.m.
On a day when President Obama toured tornado-ravaged Tuscaloosa and declared that he'd never seen devastation like it, residents of DeKalb County — a lesser-known region of corn and chicken farms about 150 miles northeast — were quietly counting the cost of their own tragedy.
There were 33 dead and more than 200 hurt in the county so far, making DeKalb one of the hardest-hit regions in the multi-state tornado siege that has killed at least 333 people and injured more than 2,000 this week, the deadliest twister outbreak since 1925.
Across DeKalb on Friday, two days after hundreds of homes were reduced to splinters by a twister that plowed a 25-mile path through the county, teenagers cut felled trees with chainsaws and mothers raked up debris. With rain expected early next week, people scrambled to fix roofs.
In Rainsville, one of the county hubs, the civic center was gutted, as was the nearby Huddle House, a favorite social spot. Neighborhoods had no electricity, running water was scarce, and cows were roaming loose.
Jeff Mann, a pastor, spent the day consoling rescue workers who had witnessed too much death. One deputy he counseled had helped recover 28 bodies. "Today, all these guys look like they're doing fine, but tomorrow you'll start to see them with glassy eyes from all that they've seen," Mann said.
[...]
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tornadoes-20110430,0,5265997.story [with comments]
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Aerial photos show path of tornado through Tuscaloosa, Alabama
This aerial photo shows the path of the tornado in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Thursday, April 28, 2011.
Dusty Compton / AP
An aerial view shows extensive damage to houses in the path of tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011.
Marvin Gentry / Reuters
An aerial view shows extensive damage to homes and businesses in the path of tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011.
Marvin Gentry / Reuters
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/28/6551306-aerial-photos-show-path-of-tornado-through-tuscaloosa-alabama [with comments]
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Obama appalled by tornado damage in Alabama
April 29, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obama-appalled-by-tornado-damage-in-alabama/2011/04/29/AF9cHUHF_story.html [with comments]
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Monster twister leaves ruin in Alabama college town
[via/more at] http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/28/us-usa-weather-tuscaloosa-idUSTRE73R64120110428 [with comments]
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‘Our whole town is just gone’
An aerial of a single block of Smithville Ms., on Thursday shows how much destruction the small town took on Wednesday leaving at least 13 dead and the town destroyed.
Thomas Wells / AP
April 29, 2011
http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/29/6556087-our-whole-town-is-just-gone [with comments]
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Tuscaloosa Tornado Damage Aerials Part 1
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Tuscaloosa Tornado Damage Aerials Part 2
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Tuscaloosa Tornado Damage Aerials Part 3
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Tuscaloosa Tornado Damage Aerials Part 4
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Hackleburg Tornado Damage Aerials Part 1
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Hackleburg Tornado Damage Aerials Part 2
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Cordova Tornado Damage Aerials
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Cullman Tornado Damage Aerials
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Doppler Radar - Tuscaloosa Alabama Tornado - April 27 2011
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Tornado near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US
[from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13220454 ]
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April 27 2011 Tornado Outbreak - Philadelphia, MS
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April 27 tornado, Neshoba county, Mississippi
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Tuscaloosa, AL Tornado 4/27/11
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Tuscaloosa Alabama Tornado April 27, 2011
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Tornado Emergency - Live Broadcast - Tuscaloosa, AL - April 27, 2011
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4/27/11 - Tuscaloosa Tornado
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Tuscaloosa Tornado - Unedited Raw Version - 4/27/11
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Watch as tornado crosses through Tuscaloosa, Alabama., heading for the University
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*4/27/11 - Tuscaloosa Tornado 'Absolutely Shocking' | CNN.com Pt.1
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*4/27/11 - Tuscaloosa Tornado 'Absolutely Shocking' | CNN.com Pt.2
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4-27-11 Tuscaloosa Wedge Tornado
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Tornado moving into Birmingham, AL 4/27/11
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Birmingham, AL tornado on 4/27/11
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Tuscaloosa Tornado and Birmingham Tornado on 4/27/11 part 2
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Powerful EF5 Tornado Hits Birmingham, Alabama April 27, 2011
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Birmingham, AL tornado--April 27, 2011
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Bridgeport, Alabama tornado 4-27-2011 video by Dennis Lambert
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Cullman, AL Tornado 4-27-11
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Violent Multi Vortex Tornado over Cullman County Alabama on April 27th 2011
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Huntsville AL Area Wedge Tornado
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April 27, 2011 Tornado Outbreak - Mississippi and Alabama
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Empire Alabama Tornado 4-27-11
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 30, 2011 -- Updated 0953 GMT (1753 HKT)
(CNN) -- The storm system that plowed through the South left scenes of destruction described as "surreal" and "sickening" by those who saw them. Authorities were working to reach those trapped; some states are facing a long and arduous recovery. Here's a look at the latest confirmed death toll as provided by state authorities as well as reports from some of the worst-hit areas.
OFFICIAL STATE DEATH TOLLS FOR APRIL 27-28 TORNADOES
Alabama - 254
Tennessee - 34
Mississippi - 33
Georgia - 15
Virginia - 5
Arkansas - 1
TOTAL - 342
Source: State officials
ALABAMA
The death toll from the severe weather in Alabama has claimed the lives of at least 254 people, according to state emergency officials. The state Emergency Management Agency reported two additional deaths, one in DeKalb County that brings the total number of deaths there to 33; and, another in Jefferson County bringing the total number of deaths there to 20.
Tuscaloosa city officials reported 45 deaths as of Friday afternoon, but later revised that to 39 because of a counting error. That change was not immediately reflected in the state's total. Almost 1,000 people were treated for injuries in the city and 446 people were unaccounted for, although not necessarily missing.
President Barack Obama and the first family toured Tuscaloosa on Friday. Obama met with Gov. Robert Bentley and families affected by the storms, and promised expedited emergency assistance to the devastated region.
"We're going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," he told reporters.
Medical personnel treated more than 1,700 injured people. Thirty-one of the state's 67 counties were affected by the tornadoes and storms.
Bentley declared a statewide state of emergency and mobilized approximately 2,000 Alabama National Guardsmen to provide emergency assistance.
Obama signed Alabama's Emergency Declaration and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.
-- Tuscaloosa: Mayor Walter Maddox described a surreal scene as the twister plowed through: "There were parts of the city I literally didn't recognize," he told CNN's Eliot Spitzer. "We have hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed, and hundreds more damaged.
-- Birmingham: Severe damage was reported in Birmingham's western suburbs; Hueytown, Concord and Pleasant Grove saw "catastrophic damage," said Hueytown Police Chief Chuck Hagler. "I don't think you understand the scale of the devastation," he said.
-- Hackleburg: Almost 30 people died in this town in northwest Alabama, according to the sheriff. Schools, businesses and homes were destroyed.
-- Cullman: What was thought to be a tornado damaged a hospital, ripped the roof off the courthouse and pummeled a number of residences, authorities said. One person was killed in Hanceville when a tree fell on a car.
Counties reporting deaths, according to state authorities:
Bibb -- 1
Calhoun -- 9
Cullman -- 2
DeKalb -- 33
Elmore -- 6
Fayette -- 4
Franklin -- 27
Hale -- 4
Jackson -- 8
Jefferson -- 20
Lawrence -- 14
Limestone -- 4
Madison -- 7
Marion -- 35
Marshall -- 5
St. Clair -- 13
Tallapoosa -- 3
Tuscaloosa -- 45
Walker -- 14
TENNESSEE
Tennessee emergency officials reported 34 deaths and 107 injuries. Serious flooding was reported in areas of western Tennessee, and more than 130,000 were without power.
-- Chattanooga: A 41-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her mobile home, according to WDEF. Her husband and son told investigators they were taking shelter in a closet when she walked over to a window and was crushed when the tree fell. In Chickamauga Lake, north of Chattanooga, no one was injured when a funnel cloud smashed into the Camp Columbus RV park, destroying several vehicles. Resident John Tripp told CNN affiliate WTVC that he saw the massive tornado form, taking up water as it crossed the lake, before it smashed into the campground.
-- Apison: Eight deaths were reported in this community east of Chattanooga. Twenty-eight people were taken to hospitals.
GEORGIA
The death toll in Georgia stands at 15, officials said Friday. Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency in 16 counties. The state reported 115 injuries. The state has concluded search operations, is conducting preliminary damage estimates and has done aerial surveys.
-- Catoosa County: Eight deaths occurred here, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. Three were confirmed in the town of Ringgold, according to the Catoosa County Coroner. The town in northwest Georgia has been hit particularly hard, with some buildings entirely demolished, Major Gary Sisk said. In Ringgold, the storm appeared to pick and choose its targets. Some homes were left virtually unscathed, or perhaps had minor roof damage. Others had no roof at all. Still more homes were simply gone, vanished into a pile of rubble. "It just looks like confetti," emergency management spokeswoman Lisa Janak said Friday, adding 300 homes were lost in the county.
-- Dade County: Two people were confirmed dead in Trenton, according to Georgia's Emergency Management Agency.
-- Spalding County: The sheriff's department confirmed two fatalities. State officials said numerous homes were severely damaged.
-- Lamar County: The state confirmed two deaths.
-- Rabun County: One death.
MISSISSIPPI
The death toll from severe weather in Mississippi has risen to 34, according to state emergency officials. More than 150 injuries were reported. One of the 33 deaths was on Tuesday. Another was a firefighter who died Friday after collapsing while clearing storm debris.
President Obama signed a disaster declaration for Clarke, Greene, Hinds, Jasper, Kemper, Lafayette and Monroe counties, making individuals living there eligible for federal funds.
Damage was reported in 50 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. Damage assessments were still ongoing, but as of Friday afternoon damage was reported to 1,572 homes. Of those, 551 were deemed destroyed or having suffered major damage.
-- Monroe County: At least 14 people were killed in the town of Smithville. Fourteen people there were still missing Friday afternoon.
-- McComb: A falling tree killed a 3-year-old girl who was asleep in her bed in the southwest Mississippi town, according to CNN affiliate WLBT in Jackson.
-- Kemper County: Three deaths were confirmed in the western Mississippi county, MEMA said.
VIRGINIA
The death toll from severe weather in Virginia was revised downward from eight to five, according to state emergency officials. Severe storms struck the counties of Goochland, Halifax, Shenandoah and Washington, among others. Four fatalities in Washington County and one in Halifax County have been confirmed, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
CNN Radio's Matt Cherry and CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/04/30/severe.weather.glance/ [with comment]
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Obama promises help to rebuild tornado-hit South
Robbie Thomas wipes her eyes as she recalls her experiences in the Rosedale Courts housing complex, in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 29, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Lee Celano
By Verna Gates and Alister Bull
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama | Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:55pm EDT
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama promised federal aid on Friday to the tornado-ravaged South, where deadly twisters have killed at least 339 people and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Obama toured smashed homes and met survivors on a visit to the worst-hit state, Alabama. It was one of seven southern states mauled by recent tornadoes and storms which have caused insured losses of between $2 billion and $5 billion, according to one catastrophe risk modeler's estimate.
"We are going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," Obama told reporters in Tuscaloosa, a university city in Alabama that was devastated by the tornadoes.
The destruction inflicted this week by the twisters, which flattened whole neighborhoods, was the deadliest natural catastrophe since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
"I have never seen devastation like this. It is heartbreaking," said Obama, accompanied by his wife Michelle and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley. "This is something I don't think anyone has seen before."
In Alabama, emergency officials again raised the death toll from the tornadoes in that state, to 238. Bentley said 1,700 people were injured.
At least 101 more deaths were reported across Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia and Louisiana.
Children were among the victims.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said it was feared the number of deaths would rise as states searched for many people unaccounted for. But the number of missing was not clear.
"We can't bring those who've been lost back. They're alongside God at this point ... but the property damage, which is obviously extensive, that's something we can do something about," Obama said.
"With initial reports of buildings destroyed approaching 10,000, property insurance losses are expected to range from $2 to $5 Billion," catastrophe risk modeling company EQECAT said.
"Tornado activity in April is putting 2011 into the record books," it said, adding that the recent tornado outbreak had involved "hundreds of touchdowns, some tornado tracks reported to be almost a mile wide and tens of miles long causing hundreds of fatalities".
Obama was eager to show that federal relief is on its way and that he is not taking the disaster lightly. His predecessor George W. Bush was fiercely criticized for what was viewed as a slow response to Hurricane Katrina.
Flying into Tuscaloosa aboard Air Force One, Obama and his family saw a wide brown scar of devastation several miles (kilometers) long and hundreds of yards (meters) wide.
Tuscaloosa resident Jack Fagan, 23, was glad that Obama saw the damage. "Perhaps federal funds will help us, but I'm sure it will take longer than they say because it always does."
Recovery could cost billions of dollars and even with federal disaster aid it could complicate efforts by affected states to bounce back from recession.
Tornadoes are a regular feature of life in the U.S. South and Midwest, but they are rarely so devastating.
NUCLEAR PLANT SHUT, INDUSTRIES DAMAGED
The tornadoes hit Alabama's poultry industry -- the state is the No. 3 U.S. chicken producer -- and hurt other manufacturers in the state.
They also halted coal production at the Cliffs Natural Resources mine in Alabama.
The second-biggest U.S. nuclear power plant, the Browns Ferry facility in Alabama, may be down for weeks after its power was knocked out and the plant automatically shut, avoiding a nuclear disaster, officials said.
Apparel producer VF Corp, owner of clothing brands such as North Face and Wrangler Jeans, said one of its jeanswear distribution centers, located in Hackleburg, Alabama, was destroyed and one employee killed.
In Tuscaloosa, the twisters, including one a mile-wide, cut a path of destruction, reducing houses to rubble, flipping cars and knocking out utilities. The death count was expected to rise with many bodies still trapped under debris.
"We are bringing in the cadaver dogs today," said Heather McCollum, assistant to Tuscaloosa's mayor. She put the death toll in the city at 42 but said it could rise.
Of the more than 150 tornadoes that rampaged from west to east across the South this week, the National Weather Service confirmed that one that struck Smithville in Mississippi's Monroe County on Wednesday was a rare EF-5 tornado, with winds reaching 205 miles per hour.
This is the highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale that measures tornado intensity.
"The homes here are made well ... but when you are talking about a direct hit, it does not matter," Monroe County Sheriff Andy Hood said. "Right now, those homes are slabs of concrete. There is nothing left."
Across the South, many people were made homeless by the tornadoes and stayed in shelters. Some residents provided food, water and supplies to neighbors whose homes were destroyed.
Tuscaloosa resident Antonio Donald, 50, received help. "I got no light, no water. I have a newborn baby at home, a daughter who is pregnant and an 88-year-old aunt," he said.
The storms left up to 1 million homes in Alabama without power. Water and garbage collection services were also disrupted in some areas.
Alabama's Jefferson County, which is fighting to avoid what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, suffered damage and 19 dead but said the storms would have little direct impact on its struggling finances because federal grants were expected.
(Additional reporting by Peggy Gargis in Birmingham and Colleen Jenkins in St. Petersburg, Leigh Coleman in Mississippi, Phil Wahba in New York; writing by Matthew Bigg and Pascal Fletcher, Editing by Paul Simao)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/us-usa-weather-idUSTRE73S3Q320110429 [with comments]
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Twister toll at 337; 2nd-deadliest outbreak in US
Authorities say the fatality toll from the devastating tornadoes across the South has climbed to 337, making it the second-deadliest day for a twister outbreak in U.S. history.
The Associated Press
Originally published Friday, April 29, 2011 at 3:48 AM [and obviously updated since, last at c. 10pm PDT 4/30/11]
CLANTON, Ala. —
Authorities say the fatality toll from the devastating tornadoes across the South has climbed to 337, making it the second-deadliest day for a twister outbreak in U.S. history.
The largest death toll ever was on March 18, 1925, when 747 people were killed in storms that raged through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
Alabama was in the path of the most destruction this time with at least 246 deaths. Authorities on Saturday raised the total number of confirmed dead in several states to 337.
The second deadliest day had been in March 1932, when 332 people died, all in Alabama.
The 1925 outbreak was long before Doppler radar could warn communities of severe weather. Forecasters say residents were warned, but the twisters were too powerful to avoid the horrifying body count.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014905534_apussevereweather.html
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South reels in aftermath of tornado disaster
President Obama toured wreckage in Tuscaloosa, Ala., yesterday. Up to 1 million Alabama homes and businesses remained without power following Wednesday’s tornado outbreak, which killed dozens of people in Tuscaloosa.
(Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)
Death toll hits 328; rescuers’ efforts stymied
By Jay Reeves and Greg Bluestein
Associated Press / April 30, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Southerners found their emergency safety net shredded yesterday as they tried to emerge from the nation’s deadliest tornado disaster since [before] the Great Depression.
Emergency buildings are wiped out. Bodies are stored in refrigerated trucks. Authorities are begging for such basics as flashlights. In one neighborhood, the storms even left firefighters to work without a truck.
The death toll from Wednesday’s storms reached 328 across seven states, including 238 in Alabama, making it the deadliest US tornado outbreak since March 1932, when another Alabama storm killed 332 people. Tornadoes that swept across the South and Midwest in April 1974 left 315 people dead.
Hundreds if not thousands of people were injured — 900 in Tuscaloosa alone — and as many as 1 million Alabama homes and businesses remained without power.
The scale of the disaster astonished President Obama when he arrived in the state yesterday.
“I’ve never seen devastation like this,’’ he said, standing in bright sunshine amid the wreckage in Tuscaloosa, where dozens of people were killed and entire neighborhoods were flattened.
At least one tornado — a 205 miles-per-hour monster that left at least 13 people dead in Smithville, Miss. — ranked in the National Weather Service’s most devastating category, EF-5. Meteorologist Jim LaDue said he expects “many more’’ of Wednesday’s tornadoes to receive that same rating, with winds topping 200 miles per hour.
Tornadoes struck with unexpected speed in several states, and the difference between life and death was hard to fathom. Four people died in Bledsoe County, Tenn., but a family survived being tossed across a road in their modular home, which was destroyed, Mayor Bobby Collier said.
By yesterday, residents whose homes were blown to pieces were seeing their losses worsen, not by nature, but by man. In Tuscaloosa and other cities, looters have been picking through the wreckage to steal what little the victims have left.
“The first night they took my jewelry, my watch, my guns,’’ Shirley Long said yesterday. “They were out here again last night doing it again.’’
Overwhelmed Tuscaloosa police imposed a curfew and got help from National Guard troops to try to stop the scavenging.
Along their flattened paths, the twisters blew down police and fire stations and other emergency buildings along with homes, businesses, churches, and power infrastructure. The number of buildings lost, damage estimates, and number of people left homeless remained unclear two days later, in part because the storm also ravaged communications systems.
Yesterday, tales of survival emerged across the region. A Georgia salon owner and her two daughters — Sky and Stormy — climbed inside a tanning bed while a tornado ripped the roof off their business. A Virginia couple scrambled under their garage’s wooden steps after a twister ripped off their home’s roof. Mississippi mobile home park residents found shelter in a Baptist church, clinging to one another as the building disintegrated.
Those who escaped the twisters hid in bathrooms, cramped closets, under porches, and even in a car entombed by a collapsing basement garage. Many tell tales of having just minutes or mere seconds to make life-and-death decisions.
University of Alabama student Shaylyndrea Jones rode out a monstrous tornado in the hallway of a second-floor apartment that shook violently as whole city blocks of Tuscaloosa were chewed up.
“We were saying our prayers as it was coming down the street. There was a rumbling and this loud woosh,’’ she said. At least 36 were killed in the college town.
The sturdy tanning bed saved Lisa Rice, owner of S&L Tans in Trenton, Ga., and her daughters, 19-year-old Stormy and 21-year-old Sky.
“Sky said, ‘We’re going to die.’ But, I said, ‘No, just pray. Just pray, just pray, just pray,’ ’’ Lisa Rice said.
For 30 seconds, wind rushed around the bed and debris flew.
“Then it just stopped. It got real quiet. We waited a few minutes and then opened up the bed and we saw daylight,’’ she said.
Jerry Stewart, a 63-year-old retired firefighter of suburban Birmingham survived under his front porch with his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren.
“They said the storm was in Tuscaloosa and it would be here in 15 minutes,’’ he said. “And before I knew it, it was here.’’
Stewart pulled the bodies of two neighbors from the rubble of a home ripped off its foundation.
Teacher Victoria Mattox, 29, was asleep in Barnesville, Ga., when a friend texted her at 12:42 a.m. Thursday telling her the sirens were going off in town. She leapt from bed and made it to her closet just in time. Seconds later she could feel her house shaking under battering winds. Windows popped out in the adjoining bedroom and then the ceiling peeled off above her head.
Within seconds, it was over and the closet where she had hunkered down was the only part of the house left standing, a large tree uprooted and arched over it.
© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/04/30/south_reels_in_aftermath_of_tornado_disaster/ [with comment]
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Rescue efforts transition to recovery in hard-hit Alabama
Video [embedded]
Obama tours Alabama storm damage
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 30, 2011 -- Updated 0337 GMT (1137 HKT)
Tuscaloosa, Alabama (CNN) -- Hopes of finding trapped survivors dwindled Friday evening in Alabama, the epicenter of storms that obliterated neighborhoods and towns and claimed scores of lives across the South.
Gov. Robert Bentley, speaking in Birmingham, said the long road to recovery will now begin.
"We've gotten past the rescue stage," Bentley said. "We have begun the recovery stage."
Earlier Friday, President Barack Obama toured rubble-strewn neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa, declaring the devastation brought by a series of powerful storms and tornadoes was beyond anything he had ever seen.
The storms killed at least 326 people in six states and left entire neighborhoods in ruins. Obama promised expedited federal aid to states affected by the tornadoes.
Has the severe weather affected you? Share stories, photos and video with iReport.
"We're going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," he said.
Wednesday's outbreak of severe weather brought what the National Weather Service categorized as a rare EF-5 tornado to one Mississippi town.
And according to the weather service, it's possible another twister was on the ground for 200 miles from Mississippi through Alabama.
The extent of the devastation became evident by Friday, when the death count in Marion County in northwest Alabama rose from three to 21, according to the state Emergency Management Agency. It said 20 people were missing.
Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams put the number even higher -- 29 people dead in the city of Hackleburg and six in Hamilton. The Hackleburg fatalities included 16 on the scene and 13 who died at several hospitals, he told CNN.
"It's pretty much wiped out," Williams said of the town. "It looks like a war zone."
The possible tornadoes destroyed a Wrangler clothing plant, a pharmacy, doctor's office and three schools, officials said.
Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia and Louisiana
Alabama suffered the greatest of loss of life, with fatalities in 19 counties confirmed by the state Emergency Management Agency. The agency reported Friday evening that the state's death toll had risen to at least 238.
In Tuscaloosa, Obama's motorcade passed street after street of homes reduced to splinters, crushed and flipped cars, and widespread debris on the way to his first stop to visit with families affected by the storms that pounded the region Wednesday and Thursday.
"I've gotta say I've never seen devastation like this," Obama told reporters.
Tuscaloosa city officials reported 45 deaths as of Friday afternoon, but later revised that to 39 because of a counting error. That change was not immediately reflected in the state's total.
Nearly 450 people were unaccounted for Friday afternoon in the city, although they were not necessarily missing.
The president's visit took place as emergency responders in Alabama and five other states continued to assess the damage wreaked by one of the worst outbreaks of violent weather in the southeastern United States in decades, experts said. The storms leveled neighborhoods, rendered major roads impassable and left nearly 800,000 customers still without power Friday evening.
CNN iReporter Stephen Bozek, a broadcast news major at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, snapped a photo of a U.S. flag affixed to an overturned vehicle.
"The neighborhood is torn to pieces and the flag flying represented the unity (of) this town," Bozek wrote.
In Mississippi, where 34 were confirmed dead, Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters that some people remain unaccounted for and rescuers could still find bodies in the rubble or in the waters surrounding Smithville, where 14 of the state's known death's occurred.
He said the city was a scene of "utter obliteration."
On Friday, the National Weather Service said the tornado that struck Smithville on Wednesday was an EF-5 storm with peak winds of 205 mph. The last such tornado recorded in the United States struck May 25, 2008, in Parkersburg, Iowa.
The tornado, the Weather Service said, destroyed 18 homes, a post office, a police station and a water treatment system. In addition to the 14 deaths, it caused 40 injuries, the weather service said.
Obama issued a federal disaster declaration for seven Mississippi counties.
The storms also left 34 people dead in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, five in Virginia and one in Arkansas.
In Alabama, emergency management officials said Friday that 35 teams have been deployed to Tuscaloosa and six other counties hit hardest by the storms to assist in recovery efforts.
Officials also warned Tennessee motorists not to cross the Alabama state line without filling up their tanks first. Widespread power outages and devastation from the storms have likely rendered functioning gas stations in northern Alabama hard to find, according to a statement released by officials in both states.
The storms cut swaths of death and destruction along U.S. Highway 72 in northern Alabama and Interstate 59 from Tuscaloosa County to the northeastern corner of the state.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox said at least one strong tornado swept through the city, leaving dozens of roads impassable and destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.
"It literally obliterated blocks and blocks of the city," Maddox said.
The city remained under a curfew for Friday night that was scheduled to expire at 6 a.m. Saturday. City officials early Friday also advised Tuscaloosa residents who live south of the Black Warrior River and east of McFarland Boulevard to boil their tap water.
Obama had signed a disaster declaration for Alabama, which enables storm victims and damaged businesses in eight counties to seek federal aid.
Such aid will be critical, Birmingham Mayor William Bell told CNN affiliate WBMA.
"It's beyond our local resources so we're going to have to get the federal government involved," Bell said. "The president assured us that he would do that."
The storms are being compared to the "super outbreak" of tornadoes on April 3 and 4, 1974, Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, said Thursday.
In that period, 148 tornadoes were reported in 13 states, and 330 people died. States affected were Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
[more at] http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/04/29/severe.weather/ [with comments]
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THE AFTERMATH: Staff accounts of the Tuscaloosa tornado
A misplaced family is assisted by emergency responders near 15th St. in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011.
Tuscaloosa News Staff Photo | Dusty Compton
Staff Report Published: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 10:17 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 10:17 p.m.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110427/NEWS/110429711/1007/NEWS02 [with comments]
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A season of devastation, a sense of community
9:19 am April 28, 2011
http://blogs.ajc.com/cynthia-tucker/2011/04/28/a-season-of-devastation-a-sense-of-community/?cxntfid=blogs_cynthia_tucker [with comments]
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April 2011 tornado information
Updated, April 29, 2011, 4:50 p.m. EDT
April 27-28, 2011, tornado outbreak statistics
NOAA's preliminary estimate is that there were 211 tornadoes on April 27-28, 2011.
• During the multi-day period of April 26-28, The National Weather Service (NWS) estimates there were a total of 288 tornadoes.
• NWS issued outlooks five days in advance, watches hours in advance, and tornado warnings with an average lead time of 24 minutes. NWS issued warnings for more than 90 percent of these tornadoes.
• The largest previous number of tornadoes on record in one event occurred from April 3-4, 1974, with 148 tornadoes.
Current media reports indicate the death toll is 318 people, and rising. This makes the event the third deadliest tornado outbreak on record.
• The April 27-28, 2011, tornado outbreak is the deadliest since the March 21, 1932, tornado outbreak that had 332 fatalities.
• Based on combined NOAA, historical research records and current fatality estimates, the April 27-28, 2011, tornado outbreak ranks 6th in single day total fatalities in the United States history. The historic research records extend back to 1680.
• The deadliest single tornado on record was the Tri-State Tornado (Mo., Ill., Ind.) on March 18, 1925, when 695 died.
• Based on combined NOAA and historical research records, the deadliest single day for tornadoes was March 18, 1925, with 747 fatalities across 7 states (including the Tri State Tornado).
Month of April 2011 (and record monthly) tornado statistics
NWS’s preliminary estimate is that there have been more than 600 tornadoes thus far during the month of April 2011.
• The previous record number of tornadoes during the month of April was 267 tornadoes set in April 1974.
• The previous record number of tornadoes during any month was 542 tornadoes set in May 2003.
• The average number of tornadoes for the month of April during the past decade is around 160.
2011 Year-to-Date (and record annual) statistics
NWS’s preliminary estimate is that there have been 835 tornadoes so far this year.
• The previous yearly record number of tornadoes was set in 2004 with 1,817.
• May is historically the most active month for tornadoes.
NWS Weather Forecast Offices serving affected areas
Click on the office websites for links to the latest on damage surveys and other local info. related to tornadoes that occurred in their areas of responsibility:
Albany, N.Y.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/aly/index.php
Atlanta/Peachtree City, Ga.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/
Binghamton, N.Y.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/bgm/index.php
Birmingham, Ala.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/
Blacksburg, Va.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/
Columbia, S.C.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/cae/
Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gsp/index.php
Huntsville, Ala.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hun/
Indianapolis, Ind.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/
Jackson, Miss.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/
Louisville, Ky.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/
Memphis, Tenn.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/meg/
Mobile, Ala.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/
Morristown, Tenn.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mrx/
Nashville, Tenn.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ohx/
Paducah, Ky.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/
State College, Pa.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/ctp/index.php
Sterling, Va.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/index.php
Tallahassee, Fla.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/tae/
Wakefield, Va.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/akq/index.php
Wilmington, Ohio
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/index.php
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/april_2011_tornado_information.html
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NSSL product captures April 27 tornado outbreak storm rotation tracks
Bright reds, oranges and yellows show tracks of where rotation was strongest as detected by NWS Doppler radars during the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak.
Apr 29th, 2011 | By Susan Cobb
NSSL has released an image documenting the rotation tracks of the devastating tornadoes on April 27. Bright reds and yellows show more intense circulations.
The image of the rotation tracks was produced by the On Demand Severe Weather Verification System, part of NSSL’s Warning Decision Support System – Integrated Information (WDSS-II) Multi-Radar/Multi Sensor platform. On Demand is a web-based tool that can be used to help confirm when and where severe weather occurred.
On Demand uses data gathered and sorted by WDSS-II to estimate the tracks of rotating storms and where hail fell. The rotation tracks or hail swath data can be overlaid on high-resolution street maps in Google Earth/Maps to pinpoint areas affected by the hazardous weather.
The WDSS-II system receives data in real-time from the nationwide networks of weather radars, satellites, surface observations and lightning detectors. WDSS-II then processes, analyzes and displays the data in a way that is useful to people who need to diagnose severe weather quickly.
The platform is available to the public online, and is being used by several local American Red Cross chapters, emergency managers and National Weather Service Forecast Offices for disaster assessment and response.
To create your own maps, go to: http://ondemand.nssl.noaa.gov/
© 2011 NOAA Weather Partners
http://www.norman.noaa.gov/2011/04/nssl-product-captures-april-27-tornado-outbreak-storm-rotation-tracks/
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Monthly Severe Weather Summary
April 2011
*Data is preliminary and subject to revision
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/monthly/1104_summary.html [with Daily Tabulation and State Tabulation]
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The 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html
The 15 Deadliest U.S. Tornado Days since 1950
by Calendar Day: Midnight-Midnight CST
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/fataldy2.htm
The 15 Deadliest U.S. Tornado Days since 1950
by Convective Period: 12 UTC - 12 UTC
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/fatalday.htm
The Online Tornado FAQ
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/index.html
Websites Dedicated to Specific Tornado Events
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/torpages.html
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NASA satellites capture photos and video of tornado outbreak
Credit: NASA
Credit: NASA
Credit: NASA
[via/more at] http://www.examiner.com/natural-disasters-in-national/nasa-satellites-capture-photos-and-video-of-tornado-outbreak [including video next below embedded at http://www.examiner.com/natural-disasters-in-national/nasa-satellite-animation-of-the-deadly-severe-weather-system-the-southern-u-s-video ]
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Severe Tornado Outbreak in the Southern United States, April 26-28, 2011
Uploaded by NASAEarthObservatory on Apr 28, 2011
April 27 and April 28, 2011, brought the deadliest tornado outbreak in the United States since 1974 [per latest, since 1925]. By dawn on April 28, at least 250 people had been killed in 6 states. Alabama was the hardest hit state, with 162 confirmed dead as of Thursday morning. This animation shows the development of the weather system that spurred the widespread deadly tornadoes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh9FyPJ0yus
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Tornado-ravaged communities tally their losses
The path of a tornado that destroyed much of Tuscaloosa, Ala., is seen from the air.
(Christine Prichard / European Pressphoto Agency / April 29, 2011)
In hard-hit DeKalb County, Ala., where 33 people died, residents help one another with shelters and the cleanup. In Tuscaloosa, the mayor says the city is living a 'nightmare.'
April 29, 2011, 7:19 p.m.
On a day when President Obama toured tornado-ravaged Tuscaloosa and declared that he'd never seen devastation like it, residents of DeKalb County — a lesser-known region of corn and chicken farms about 150 miles northeast — were quietly counting the cost of their own tragedy.
There were 33 dead and more than 200 hurt in the county so far, making DeKalb one of the hardest-hit regions in the multi-state tornado siege that has killed at least 333 people and injured more than 2,000 this week, the deadliest twister outbreak since 1925.
Across DeKalb on Friday, two days after hundreds of homes were reduced to splinters by a twister that plowed a 25-mile path through the county, teenagers cut felled trees with chainsaws and mothers raked up debris. With rain expected early next week, people scrambled to fix roofs.
In Rainsville, one of the county hubs, the civic center was gutted, as was the nearby Huddle House, a favorite social spot. Neighborhoods had no electricity, running water was scarce, and cows were roaming loose.
Jeff Mann, a pastor, spent the day consoling rescue workers who had witnessed too much death. One deputy he counseled had helped recover 28 bodies. "Today, all these guys look like they're doing fine, but tomorrow you'll start to see them with glassy eyes from all that they've seen," Mann said.
[...]
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tornadoes-20110430,0,5265997.story [with comments]
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Aerial photos show path of tornado through Tuscaloosa, Alabama
This aerial photo shows the path of the tornado in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Thursday, April 28, 2011.
Dusty Compton / AP
An aerial view shows extensive damage to houses in the path of tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011.
Marvin Gentry / Reuters
An aerial view shows extensive damage to homes and businesses in the path of tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011.
Marvin Gentry / Reuters
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/28/6551306-aerial-photos-show-path-of-tornado-through-tuscaloosa-alabama [with comments]
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Obama appalled by tornado damage in Alabama
April 29, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obama-appalled-by-tornado-damage-in-alabama/2011/04/29/AF9cHUHF_story.html [with comments]
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Monster twister leaves ruin in Alabama college town
[via/more at] http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/28/us-usa-weather-tuscaloosa-idUSTRE73R64120110428 [with comments]
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‘Our whole town is just gone’
An aerial of a single block of Smithville Ms., on Thursday shows how much destruction the small town took on Wednesday leaving at least 13 dead and the town destroyed.
Thomas Wells / AP
April 29, 2011
http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/29/6556087-our-whole-town-is-just-gone [with comments]
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Tuscaloosa Tornado Damage Aerials Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6giQ3csbUg
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Tuscaloosa Tornado Damage Aerials Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3Pl4Gu0Ly0
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Tuscaloosa Tornado Damage Aerials Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn_O5mNgsk8
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Tuscaloosa Tornado Damage Aerials Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj7Nyx-3AoM
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Hackleburg Tornado Damage Aerials Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBnisypTrzM
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Hackleburg Tornado Damage Aerials Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-AQdKr2JaU
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Cordova Tornado Damage Aerials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbVfQxi9JoY
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Cullman Tornado Damage Aerials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR83MBQNGqw
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Doppler Radar - Tuscaloosa Alabama Tornado - April 27 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EYGBtQIpb4
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Tornado near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US
[from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13220454 ]
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April 27 2011 Tornado Outbreak - Philadelphia, MS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev2bZRV8eOo [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XInx2RsPIz8 ]
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April 27 tornado, Neshoba county, Mississippi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTGJmaK3bsg
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Tuscaloosa, AL Tornado 4/27/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4AGa-dYV7c
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Tuscaloosa Alabama Tornado April 27, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA7TKSHJ_wM
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Tornado Emergency - Live Broadcast - Tuscaloosa, AL - April 27, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR5LtyQ_5IM
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4/27/11 - Tuscaloosa Tornado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ohIVzIZLuQ
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Tuscaloosa Tornado - Unedited Raw Version - 4/27/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0FHTG9VETY
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Watch as tornado crosses through Tuscaloosa, Alabama., heading for the University
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFyw9WAlkuk
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*4/27/11 - Tuscaloosa Tornado 'Absolutely Shocking' | CNN.com Pt.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71lvTCnEjRk
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*4/27/11 - Tuscaloosa Tornado 'Absolutely Shocking' | CNN.com Pt.2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8exJbGX7CU
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4-27-11 Tuscaloosa Wedge Tornado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRGkCZmjVXI
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Tornado moving into Birmingham, AL 4/27/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OonEQCkfZXc
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Birmingham, AL tornado on 4/27/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOgO94QFKvo
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Tuscaloosa Tornado and Birmingham Tornado on 4/27/11 part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y8hmZXr9EY
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Powerful EF5 Tornado Hits Birmingham, Alabama April 27, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWSGJ-hG4RM
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Birmingham, AL tornado--April 27, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxWRS-aFBW8
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Bridgeport, Alabama tornado 4-27-2011 video by Dennis Lambert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFzThjbSTmg
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Cullman, AL Tornado 4-27-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRPUan2IrJU
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Violent Multi Vortex Tornado over Cullman County Alabama on April 27th 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U1asLiDYB0
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Huntsville AL Area Wedge Tornado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqWjCY9d90M
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April 27, 2011 Tornado Outbreak - Mississippi and Alabama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhKjv9GuARQ
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Empire Alabama Tornado 4-27-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEr2lCnQcow
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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