Hundreds dead as tornadoes devastate southern US states
Source: Agencies |
April 29, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DOZENS of tornadoes wiped out entire towns across a wide swath of the southern United States, killing more than 220 people in the deadliest storms in nearly 40 years.
Officials said yesterday they expected the death toll to rise.
In Alabama, where as many as a million people were without power, Governor Robert Bentley said 2,000 national guard troops were helping to search for people still missing. He said the National Weather Service and forecasters did a good job of alerting people, but there is only so much that can be done to deal with tornadoes a mile wide.
"You cannot prepare against an F5," the most powerful category, he said.
Dave Imy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, said the number of deaths was the most in a tornado outbreak since 1974, when 315 people died. The center said it received 137 tornado reports around the region into Wednesday night.
One of the hardest-hit areas was Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 and home to the University of Alabama. The city's police and other emergency services were devastated, the mayor said, and at least 15 people were killed.
A massive tornado, caught on video, barreled through the city late on Wednesday afternoon, leveling it.
By nightfall, the city was dark. Roads were impassable. Signs were blown down in front of restaurants, businesses were unrecognizable and sirens wailed off and on. Debris littered the streets and sidewalks.
The Browns Ferry nuclear power plant about 50 kilometers west of Huntsville, Alabama, lost offsite power. The Tennessee Valley Authority-owned plant had to use seven diesel generators to power the plant's three units. The safety systems operated as needed and the emergency event was classified as the lowest of four levels, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
The storm system spread destruction from Texas to New York, where dozens of roads were flooded or washed out.
"We were in the bathroom holding onto each other and holding onto dear life," said Samantha Nail, who lives in the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Pleasant Grove where the storm slammed heavy pickup trucks into ditches and obliterated brick houses, leaving behind a mess of mattresses, electronics and children's toys scattered across a grassy plain where dozens used to live.
"If it wasn't for our concrete walls, our home would be gone like the rest of them."
Most of the deaths were in Alabama, which confirmed more than 130 deaths. There were also fatalities in Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky.
The governors in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia each issued emergency declarations for parts of their states.
President Barack Obama said he had spoken with Alabama's governor and approved his request for emergency federal assistance.
"Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this devastation, and we commend the heroic efforts of those who have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster," Obama said.
Around Tuscaloosa, traffic was snarled by downed trees and power lines, and many drivers abandoned their cars.
"What we faced today was massive damage on a scale we have not seen in Tuscaloosa in quite some time," Mayor Walter Maddox said.
University officials said there didn't appear to be significant damage on campus, and dozens of students and local residents were staying at a 125-bed shelter in the campus recreation center.
The storms came on the heels of another system that killed 10 people in Arkansas and one in Mississippi earlier this week.
Officials said yesterday they expected the death toll to rise.
In Alabama, where as many as a million people were without power, Governor Robert Bentley said 2,000 national guard troops were helping to search for people still missing. He said the National Weather Service and forecasters did a good job of alerting people, but there is only so much that can be done to deal with tornadoes a mile wide.
"You cannot prepare against an F5," the most powerful category, he said.
Dave Imy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, said the number of deaths was the most in a tornado outbreak since 1974, when 315 people died. The center said it received 137 tornado reports around the region into Wednesday night.
One of the hardest-hit areas was Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 and home to the University of Alabama. The city's police and other emergency services were devastated, the mayor said, and at least 15 people were killed.
A massive tornado, caught on video, barreled through the city late on Wednesday afternoon, leveling it.
By nightfall, the city was dark. Roads were impassable. Signs were blown down in front of restaurants, businesses were unrecognizable and sirens wailed off and on. Debris littered the streets and sidewalks.
The Browns Ferry nuclear power plant about 50 kilometers west of Huntsville, Alabama, lost offsite power. The Tennessee Valley Authority-owned plant had to use seven diesel generators to power the plant's three units. The safety systems operated as needed and the emergency event was classified as the lowest of four levels, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
The storm system spread destruction from Texas to New York, where dozens of roads were flooded or washed out.
"We were in the bathroom holding onto each other and holding onto dear life," said Samantha Nail, who lives in the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Pleasant Grove where the storm slammed heavy pickup trucks into ditches and obliterated brick houses, leaving behind a mess of mattresses, electronics and children's toys scattered across a grassy plain where dozens used to live.
"If it wasn't for our concrete walls, our home would be gone like the rest of them."
Most of the deaths were in Alabama, which confirmed more than 130 deaths. There were also fatalities in Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky.
The governors in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia each issued emergency declarations for parts of their states.
President Barack Obama said he had spoken with Alabama's governor and approved his request for emergency federal assistance.
"Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this devastation, and we commend the heroic efforts of those who have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster," Obama said.
Around Tuscaloosa, traffic was snarled by downed trees and power lines, and many drivers abandoned their cars.
"What we faced today was massive damage on a scale we have not seen in Tuscaloosa in quite some time," Mayor Walter Maddox said.
University officials said there didn't appear to be significant damage on campus, and dozens of students and local residents were staying at a 125-bed shelter in the campus recreation center.
The storms came on the heels of another system that killed 10 people in Arkansas and one in Mississippi earlier this week.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
