US twister death toll at 337
Source: Agencies |
May 1, 2011, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SOUTHERNERS found their emergency safety net shredded on Friday as they tried to emerge from the second-deadliest day for a twister outbreak in United States history.
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 without a truck.
The death toll from Wednesday's storms reached 337 across seven states, including at least 246 in Alabama.
The largest death toll ever was on March 18, 1925, when 747 people were killed in storms that raged through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. The second deadliest day had been in March 1932, when 332 people died, all in Alabama.
The 1925 outbreak was before the days when Doppler radar could warn communities of severe weather. Forecasters have said residents were told the latest tornadoes were coming. But they were just too wide and powerful and in populated areas to avoid a horrifying body count.
Hundreds if not thousands of people were injured on Wednesday and as many as 1 million Alabama homes and businesses remained without power.
The scale of the disaster astonished US President Barack Obama when he arrived in the state on Friday.
"I've never seen devastation like this," he said, standing amid the wreckage in Tuscaloosa, where at least 45 people were killed and entire neighborhoods were flattened. Hours later, Obama signed disaster declarations for Mississippi and Georgia, in addition to one he had authorized for Alabama.
Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox called the devastation "a humanitarian crisis" for his city.
Maddox said up to 446 people were unaccounted for in the city, though he added that many of those reports probably were from people who have since found their loved ones but have not notified authorities.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has responded to all affected areas and has officials on the ground in Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee, its director Craig Fugate said. State and local authorities remain in charge of response and recovery efforts, Fugate said.
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 without a truck.
The death toll from Wednesday's storms reached 337 across seven states, including at least 246 in Alabama.
The largest death toll ever was on March 18, 1925, when 747 people were killed in storms that raged through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. The second deadliest day had been in March 1932, when 332 people died, all in Alabama.
The 1925 outbreak was before the days when Doppler radar could warn communities of severe weather. Forecasters have said residents were told the latest tornadoes were coming. But they were just too wide and powerful and in populated areas to avoid a horrifying body count.
Hundreds if not thousands of people were injured on Wednesday and as many as 1 million Alabama homes and businesses remained without power.
The scale of the disaster astonished US President Barack Obama when he arrived in the state on Friday.
"I've never seen devastation like this," he said, standing amid the wreckage in Tuscaloosa, where at least 45 people were killed and entire neighborhoods were flattened. Hours later, Obama signed disaster declarations for Mississippi and Georgia, in addition to one he had authorized for Alabama.
Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox called the devastation "a humanitarian crisis" for his city.
Maddox said up to 446 people were unaccounted for in the city, though he added that many of those reports probably were from people who have since found their loved ones but have not notified authorities.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has responded to all affected areas and has officials on the ground in Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee, its director Craig Fugate said. State and local authorities remain in charge of response and recovery efforts, Fugate said.
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