229 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
229 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
topics
|
|
weather
|
|
8482350
|
|
-----
|
|
# US in shock as worst storms for 40 years kill almost 300
|
|
|
|
## Shocked Americans are struggling to grasp the magnitude of the worst US
|
|
tornadoes in almost 40 years, which carved a trail of destruction across the
|
|
south, claiming at least 295 lives.
|
|
|
|
560
|
|
|
|
315
|
|
|
|
TelegraphPlayer-8479552
|
|
|
|
[![Jon Swaine][1]][2]
|
|
|
|
By [Jon Swaine][3], New York 1:16AM BST 29 Apr 2011
|
|
|
|
[Follow Jon Swaine on Twitter][4]
|
|
|
|
The storms were the deadliest since 310 people were killed in 1974 when 148
|
|
tornadoes hit several states and authorities have warned that the death toll
|
|
could rise further.
|
|
|
|
Entire [**US**][5] towns were destroyed, as six states were struck by huge
|
|
twisters. One that was captured on extraordinary video footage measured a mile
|
|
wide - 20 times larger than the typical tornado.
|
|
|
|
States of emergency were declared by the governors of Alabama, Arkansas,
|
|
Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and
|
|
governors called out the National Guard - including 2,000 troops in Alabama -
|
|
to help with the rescue and clean-up operations.
|
|
|
|
Alabama, one of America's poorest states, was worst hit. More than 131 people
|
|
there died, 36 in the city of Tuscaloosa alone. Walter Maddox, its mayor, said
|
|
the city had been "obliterated".
|
|
|
|
"I don't know how anyone survived," said Mr Maddox. "It's an amazing scene.
|
|
|
|
## Related Articles
|
|
|
|
* [Deadly tornado hits Alabama][6]
|
|
|
|
28 Apr 2011
|
|
|
|
* [Tornado leaves chaos in Missouri][7]
|
|
|
|
26 Apr 2011
|
|
|
|
* [Tornado hits US airport][8]
|
|
|
|
24 Apr 2011
|
|
|
|
* [Close encounter with tornado in Mississippi][9]
|
|
|
|
18 Apr 2011
|
|
|
|
* [What is a tornado?][10]
|
|
|
|
29 Apr 2011
|
|
|
|
* [US storms: tornado blows shop sign 112 miles][11]
|
|
|
|
29 Apr 2011
|
|
|
|
"There are parts of the city I don't recognise and I've lived here my entire
|
|
life."
|
|
|
|
James Sykes, a survivor, described watching a "silent monster" suck up the
|
|
city's streets. "It was full of lightning, devastating everything," Mr Sykes
|
|
said. Dozens of businesses and emergency service buildings across the city
|
|
were wiped out.
|
|
|
|
"We had a major catastrophic event here in Alabama," said Robert Bentley, the
|
|
state's governor. "We have major destruction in the state." A million people
|
|
were left without power.
|
|
|
|
Storms caused the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant near Huntsville, Alabama,
|
|
to lose power. Officials described the incident as a low-level emergency and
|
|
said it was under control.
|
|
|
|
The National Weather Service said it had received 137 tornado reports on
|
|
Wednesday, bringing to 300 the total number counted in the region since
|
|
Friday.
|
|
|
|
In Mississippi, at least 32 people were killed. Another 30 were reported dead
|
|
in Tennessee, 11 in Arkansas, 13 in Georgia, seven in Virginia, and three in
|
|
Missouri.
|
|
|
|
President Barack Obama, who promised swift assistance, said: "Our hearts go
|
|
out to all those who have been affected by this devastation". He will travel
|
|
to Alabama to view the damage on Friday.
|
|
|
|
Mr Obama also paid tribute to the "heroic efforts" of those who were
|
|
responding to the disaster by clearing up disaster-struck areas and searching
|
|
for victims.
|
|
|
|
People throughout the south were left trapped in their homes, colleges and
|
|
vehicles after fallen trees and flooding left large areas impossible to pass.
|
|
|
|
Tim Holt, a hotel worker in Ringgold, the hardest hit town in Georgia, said:
|
|
"Our town is in pieces", adding: "It's an 80 per cent loss." Birmingham,
|
|
Alabama's largest city, was also struck. Samantha Nail, a resident of one of
|
|
its suburbs, described watching nearby brick houses being swept away.
|
|
|
|
"We were in the bathroom holding on to each other and holding on to dear
|
|
life," she said. "If it wasn't for our concrete walls, our home would be gone
|
|
like the rest of them." The storms appeared to have been the deadliest natural
|
|
disaster in the US since Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800
|
|
people in Louisiana in 2005.
|
|
|
|
Further heavy rain and high winds are expected on Saturday, with 21 states
|
|
throughout the country warned that they could face severe weather.
|
|
|
|
[X][12] Share & bookmark
|
|
|
|
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
|
|
|
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
|
|
|
[What are these?][13]
|
|
|
|
* Share: [Share][12] [ ][14] [ ][15]
|
|
|
|
[Tweet][16]
|
|
|
|
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/8482350/US-in-shock-as-worst-storms-
|
|
for-40-years-kill-almost-300.html
|
|
|
|
Telegraph
|
|
|
|
## [Weather][17]
|
|
|
|
* ### [News »][18]
|
|
|
|
* ### [World News »][19]
|
|
|
|
* ### [North America »][20]
|
|
|
|
* ### [USA »][5]
|
|
|
|
* ### [Jon Swaine »][21]
|
|
|
|
In topics
|
|
|
|
[![][22]][23]
|
|
|
|
### [Weather forecast][23]
|
|
|
|
[![Lacy Tasker salvages what she can from her mothers house after it was
|
|
destroyed when a massive tornado passed through the town on May 24, 2011 in
|
|
Joplin, Missouri][24] ][25]
|
|
|
|
### [Newest tornado pictures][25]
|
|
|
|
[![A man carries a young girl who was rescued after being trapped with her
|
|
mother in their home after a tornado hit Joplin, Missouri][26] ][27]
|
|
|
|
### [US Midwest tornadoes][27]
|
|
|
|
[![Vehicles are stranded on a flooded road near Vicksburg, Mississippi][28]
|
|
][29]
|
|
|
|
### [Mississippi River floods][29]
|
|
|
|
[![][30] ][31]
|
|
|
|
### [Deadly tornado in Alabama][31]
|
|
|
|
[X][12] Share & bookmark
|
|
|
|
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
|
|
|
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
|
|
|
[What are these?][13]
|
|
|
|
Share:
|
|
|
|
* [ ][12]
|
|
|
|
* [ ][14]
|
|
|
|
* [ ][15]
|
|
|
|
* [Tweet][16]
|
|
|
|
* Advertisement
|
|
|
|
![][32]
|
|
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][33]
|
|
|
|
### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][34]
|
|
|
|
[![Gil Scott-Heron][35]][34]
|
|
|
|
Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
|
|
on the black American experience.
|
|
|
|
### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][36]
|
|
|
|
### [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][37]
|
|
|
|
### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][38]
|
|
|
|
### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][39]
|
|
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
Classified Advertising
|
|
|
|
* [Services][40]
|
|
|
|
* [Property][41]
|
|
|
|
* [Motoring][42]
|
|
|
|
Loading
|
|
|
|
[Find your ideal job with Telegraph Jobs][43]
|
|
|
|
var puffs_8120657 = new Array();
|
|
|