Tuscaloosa (Alabama): The death toll from severe storms that punished five Southern US states jumped to a staggering 215 after Alabama canvassed its hard-hit counties for a new tally of lives lost.
Alabama's state emergency management agency said early on Thursday it had confirmed 215 deaths, up from at least 61 earlier. "We expect that toll, unfortunately, to rise," governor Robert Bentley told ABC's 'Good Morning America'.
Mississippi officials reported 32 dead in that state and Tennessee raised its report to six from one. Another 11 have been killed in Georgia and one in Virginia.
The fierce storms Wednesday spawned tornadoes and winds that wiped out homes and businesses, forced a nuclear power plant to use backup generators and even prompted the evacuation of a National Weather Service office.
The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it received 137 tornado reports around the regions, including 66 in Alabama and 38 in Mississippi. One of the hardest-hit areas Wednesday 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 and about 100 were in a single hospital. A massive tornado, caught on video by a news camera on a tower, barreled through the city 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. Students in a commercial district near campus used flashlights to check out the damage. Elsewhere, 11 people were killed in Mississippi, another 11 people were reported dead in Georgia and one person died each in Tennessee and Virginia.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 governor and approved his request for emergency aid, including search and rescue assets. AP
Alabama's state emergency management agency said early on Thursday it had confirmed 215 deaths, up from at least 61 earlier. "We expect that toll, unfortunately, to rise," governor Robert Bentley told ABC's 'Good Morning America'.
Mississippi officials reported 32 dead in that state and Tennessee raised its report to six from one. Another 11 have been killed in Georgia and one in Virginia.
The fierce storms Wednesday spawned tornadoes and winds that wiped out homes and businesses, forced a nuclear power plant to use backup generators and even prompted the evacuation of a National Weather Service office.
The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it received 137 tornado reports around the regions, including 66 in Alabama and 38 in Mississippi. One of the hardest-hit areas Wednesday 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 and about 100 were in a single hospital. A massive tornado, caught on video by a news camera on a tower, barreled through the city 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. Students in a commercial district near campus used flashlights to check out the damage. Elsewhere, 11 people were killed in Mississippi, another 11 people were reported dead in Georgia and one person died each in Tennessee and Virginia.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 governor and approved his request for emergency aid, including search and rescue assets. AP
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