Storm Death Toll Approaches 300
The Washington Post reports:
A series of deadly tornadoes that visited destruction on six Southern states left stunned residents literally picking up the pieces Friday, as they sought to salvage what they could in shattered homes from Mississippi to Virginia.
Nearly 300 people were killed in the nation’s deadliest natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina — a “tornado outbreak” rarely seen on such a scale.
President Obama, who called the damage “nothing short of catastrophic,” left the White House with first lady Michelle Obama Friday morning en route to Alabama, where they were scheduled to view the devastation in hard-hit Tuscaloosa and meet with Gov. Robert Bentley (R) and affected families. Later, the Obamas are flying to Cape Canaveral, Fla., to witness the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour in the afternoon.
Obama late Thursday signed a “major disaster” declaration for Alabama, making federal aid available to supplement state and local recovery efforts.
“He wants to witness for himself the terrible devastation from these storms,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Friday morning before Obama’s arrival in Alabama.
Not since April 3, 1974, has the United States witnessed so much destruction from twisters, and tornado experts say that Wednesday, April 27, 2011, may go down in history as the most destructive outbreak in eight decades.
Alabama took the most brutal pounding, the entire state scarred by a monster funnel cloud that crossed the state on a track that struck Tuscaloosa head-on and chewed through the Birmingham suburbs before exiting into Georgia. At least 210 Alabamans lost their lives, according to a news release early Friday from the state’s Emergency Management Agency.
As many as 1 million homes and businesses in Alabama lost power, and Bentley activated 2,000 National Guard troops to help in the recovery effort.
At least 33 people were killed in Mississippi, 33 in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, five in Virginia and one in Kentucky, the Associated Press reported. Many more were injured.
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