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US tornadoes kill dozens
06/02/2008 19:28 - (SA)
Little Rock - Tornadoes and thunderstorms ravaged several states in the US South overnight, killing 45 people, injuring more than 100 and causing widespread damage, authorities and local media said.
The storms tore across Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama, overturning trucks, trapping people, ripping up houses, smashing cars, and uprooting trees.
By Wednesday morning, the city of New Orleans and the state of Georgia were also under tornado warning.
Tennessee was the hardest-hit state with 24 deaths, according to state emergency officials. Nearly 150 people were injured in that state.
A tornado struck the Columbia Gulf Transmission company in Hartsville, Tennessee, and set off a natural gas fire that lit up the early morning sky, officials said.
The twister flattened the nearby home of one resident.
House, horses and dog blown away
"It just took the house and everything and my horses and my dog," Dara Reasonover told CNN. "I don't know if they're alive or dead, but we'll make it."
Two of the states hit by the tornadoes - Arkansas and Tennessee - were among the 24 "Super Tuesday" states that held nominating contests before November's presidential election.
Several candidates expressed condolences to victims as they addressed supporters.
Extensive damage included a dormitory at Union University in Jackson, where some students were trapped for a time, school officials said. Classes have been cancelled for two weeks.
University President David Dockery described scenes of destruction. "Cars and trucks thrown from one side of the campus to the other," he told CNN.
The roof of a warehouse collapsed in Memphis, killing at least three.
In Arkansas, emergency services reported 13 dead across four counties, CNN reported.
Rough night
"It's a pretty rough night in the scope of it. I don't know if I can remember when we've had as many (tornado) warnings and touchdowns," Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said by telephone.
The governor's spokesperson, Matt DeCample, said the number of injuries was unknown. "We're getting answers back in the multiples, but we're still looking for folks," he said.
In Kentucky, at least seven people were killed, state emergency spokesperson Buddy Rogers told Fox News on Wednesday.
"We were preparing for the worst and we did get hit pretty hard - but it always could have been worse," he said.
A tornado early Wednesday in northern Alabama killed at least one person and destroyed houses on a 16 km stretch in Lawrence County , emergency officials told CNN.
The storm system stretched as far north as Ohio.
The Jackson Sun reported a nursing home was seriously damaged, but the 114 residents were evacuated safely.
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