Posted on 05/01/2011 9:24:06 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
PRATT CITY, Ala. — Church groups, students and other volunteers worked aggressively Saturday to bring food, water and other necessities to communities ravaged by the second-deadliest day of tornadoes in U.S. history.
Across the South, volunteers have been pitching in as the death toll from Wednesday's storms keeps rising.
At least 340 people were killed across seven states, including at least 249 in Alabama, as the storm system spawned tornadoes through several states. It was the largest death toll since March 18, 1925, when 747 people were killed in storms that raged through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
In Pratt City, a working-class suburb of Birmingham, police vehicles and military jeeps filled the roads surrounded by leveled and gutted homes on Saturday. Officers barked orders to residents wandering through to clear the roads.
Thomas Brown said volunteers had stepped up to bring supplies — a day earlier, a truck patrolled neighborhoods with volunteers jumping out of the back to hand out water and groceries. Dozens more turned an elementary school into a community hub, where people dedicated one room to storing bread and another to sorting donated clothing. A doctor set up shop inside, and a grill was set up outside. Students formed an assembly line to unload fresh supplies.
Video: Storms turn sports enemies into allies (on this page)
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
What's the matter with you? Dead and missing in Japan is nearly 26,000, plus a major problem with a Nuc plant.
What a crass and tasteless comment placed in the topic! You’re an embarrassment.
Must be that legendary Chicago class.
*** in Arkansas in 1968 that killed 14 in my hometown***
Greenwood, by any chance?
Foreign aid should be *completely* eliminate until we get our economy, debt in check, and country back.
At this point in America's history, foreign aid utter lunacy and outright treason against the American people.
Exactly what I was going to say. What's with all the really stupid, ignorant parenthetical headline additions I'm seeing lately? Both are tragedies, but Japan bore one far more massive in every possible way -- scale, physical damage, financial impact, human loss and suffering, and very serious ongoing danger.
I agree.
It's heartbreaking to see so much death and devastation from these tornados, but so encouraging to see the American spirit alive and kicking.
As it has been all along.
It just doesn't get much media coverage.
And to think that the morons on the coasts just love to portray Alabama as some backwater full of idiots.
When disaster hits them, they will spend their time trying to phone FEMA, and wonder why hasn’t anyone saved them.
I hear ya.
I was here overseas when Ike hit and was two months away from heading home to Houston on R&R.
Co-workers saw the aftermath of Ike on the news and came to me sympathtic, saying things like, "Oh that's awful that you're going home to such a mess."
I always responded, "A mess? Texas is not New Orleans. By the time I get home in a couple of months, I won't even be able to tell that Houston was hit and Galveston will be at least 50% recovered."
I was right....except Galveston was even further along than that. :)
Whatever you say, Fruit and NutBoy.
Obviously, you’ve missed the point which is that Americans, like the Japanese, will pull together in times of crisis and help each other out and not just wait for a handout as was portrayed during the tsunami news coverage.
Exactly!
And you miss the point s well - restating it >>> Americans, like the Japanese, will pull together in times of crisis and help each other out and not just wait for a handout as was portrayed during the tsunami news coverage.
Don’t believe all the liberal hype you hear about the Ugly Americans - much of it is just left-wing pigressive fantasy.
I love it too. They’re not sitting around saying “oh, wo is me”. They’re getting out there and getting the job done. They arenNOT waiting on some government agency to comenbail them out. Go ‘Bama, show ‘em how it’s done.
Dang...ok what does Alabama and Louisiana have in common that Mississippi and Japan doesn’t to have people loot after tragedy.
Talking to relatives in Haleyville and Athens, it’s just horrible down there. The F5 clipped Haleyville and wiped Phil Campbell off the map. Houses lifted right up off the foundations whole. Even had one root cellar with a concrete roof lifted right off.
All the family is safe as far as we know, but they did know people that were killed, including a new mother and the newborn is missing.
As Hank said: ‘Country folks can survive’. They don’t wait around for the govt to help them.
“Obviously, you’ve missed the point which is that Americans, like the Japanese, will pull together in times of crisis and help each other out and not just wait for a handout as was portrayed during the tsunami news coverage.”
Damage control? Your comments have been disgusting.
I stand by my comments - you can open your mind or retain your bias; that’s up to you.
Absolutely not! They still have over 10,000 missing and will probably never be found over in Japan. As bad as the tornadoes were in the States ... this doesn't compare to what happened over there.
“I stand by my comments - you can open your mind or retain your bias; that’s up to you.”
Nice try, you are the one demonstrating a bias. You are the one giving the finger to the Japanese. Amazing that a freeper would do such a thing.
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