Posted on 04/28/2011 12:00:03 AM PDT by dragnet2
Deadly tornadoes, thunderstorms tore through the south Wednesday killing more than 70 people in four states.
This is latest round of storms to hit the region over past several days.
At least 77 deaths are being blamed on the severe weather, according to the Associated Press.
The majority of those deaths were reported in Alabama with 61 people killed – including 15 in the city of Tuscaloosa alone.
Mayor Walter Maddox confirmed that 15 people died Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., a city of approximately 180,000 leveled by an estimated mile-wide tornado.
A tornado moves through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Wednesday, April 27, 2011. A wave of severe storms laced with tornadoes strafed the South on Wednesday, killing dozens of people around the region and splintering buildings across swaths of an Alabama university town.
"I'm in my car at corner on McFarland. Milo's Hamburgers isn't there anymore," Tuscaloosa resident Phil Owen told ABC News affiliate WBMA.
"We have way over 100 injuries throughout the city of Tuscaloosa," Mayor Maddox said Wednesday. "We have hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed and hundreds more damaged."
Maddox said the National Guard were being dispatched to devastated areas across the state the Associated Press reported.
President Obama declared a state of emergency for the search and rescue response in Alabama, and Gov. Robert Bentley told WBMA he expected him to declare another one to help pay for the cleanup.
In confirming the state of emergency, President Obama said federal officials had their eye on the storms and would offer help as needed.
"Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives because of the tornadoes that have swept through Alabama and the southeastern United States," he said in a written statement.
August said the damage and destruction from on Wednesday's severe weather has left some Alabama residents with no place to go.
"We are opening shelters throughout the state to make sure folks who have nowhere to go, tonight, will have somewhere to go, out of the weather," said August.
Fatalities in Georgia, Mississippi
Crystal Paulk-Buchanan, a spokeswoman for Georgia emergency management in Atlanta, said four people have been killed so far.
In addition, at least 11 were dead in Mississippi, ABC News confirmed.
at least one person killed in Tennessee Wednesday.
The weather system was expected to move into Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky overnight and into the Carolinas by Thursday morning.
I am having a hard time grasping that. I pray we can rise above politics and make this about the people who have lost so much.
Many on both sides will try to make political hay out of this. But as a Christian I believe we are called to respond to those who need help without regard to scoring points with the world.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.
As a possible precedent. W declared areas of LA, MS and TX federal disaster areas before the hurricanes hit in '05. I'm not sure that it would have been aporpriate to do so before yesterday's events as these storms are not as predictable as hurricanes.
I think the bigger issue is that "The Failure" has shown a callousnes unbefore thinkable for a President and his classlessness rubs many a person the wrong way.
Prayers for the dead, the injured, and the homeless.
It's also ironic ( thoguh that admittedly may not be the best word choce) that before this, the BIG debate/discussion in Alabama was all about the poisoned trees in Toomer's Corner at Auburn. Sort of puts it in perspective..
The devastation is unbelievable, and the videos of the twisters can only be described as a Holocaust. Now, our American people are going through something like Japan endured last month. God be with them.
I am very, very sorry to hear about your dear Grandmother.
This is a terrible tragedy.
May the Lord be with you.
There have been Particularly Dangerous Situation tornado watch boxes that not only haven’t had a tornado, they didn’t have a thunderstorm (”cap” wasn’t broken.)
There have been days with SPC High Risks with very few tornadoes and no one killed.
I don’t think anyone thought yesterday’s forecasts would bust, but it’s simply not possible to pre-declare disaster areas for tornadoes.
Uhhh, no.
Two dead in Ringgold.
Where do you get your news, Al Jazeera?
Now how do we learn and gather stats about how all these souls died. Many would like to know if basements, or shelters, made a difference. Were these deaths in cars, folks outside, etc.
At least some knowledge could be gathered from looking at this short period in history.
I can assure you that everything humanly possible was done to prepare. There was no way to prepare for this. Some of the warning devices had been destroyed in the morning tornadoes. Never in my life had I seen supercell development BEHIND a line of tornadoes like yesterday. As I said in my earlier post, people were huddled in basements, and still died.
I realize as I type, I am still shaking from yesterday.
Please pray for dear Freeper, Lady Pilgrim. Her and Mr. Pilgrim (maybe his freeper name?) still have not been able to reach family in a devastated area. It is the hometown where they spent their childhood. Her and I sat together yesterday on the phone as we watched the huge vortex mow her hometown to pieces accompanied by debris flying everywhere.
We are all in a state of shock. Some places were hit repeatedly.
Exactly...I have chased several High Risk days and PDS Watch boxes and have seen nothing! Many High Risk days turn out to be a linear mess with very damaging wind and large hail, but very few tornadoes.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2711666/posts?page=80#80
Here is my post.
One other important note is that some Auburn people have begun Toomer’s for Alabama, an effort to coordinate help for those in Tuscaloosa with volunteers and donations. There comes a time to put the football rivalry aside. Everyone is stepping us to the plate.
I cannot determine where that is.....so many places and towns look like that today.
Speechless
Prayers up for your Grandmother. I’m so sorry.
“I love ya Maw Maw.” ...Heartbreaking.
Birmingham Alabama
Actually the number is 8:
Eighth storm-related fatality in Ringgold
UPDATE at 5:15 p.m.: An eighth storm-related death has been confirmed in Ringgold, in the Cherokee Valley Road area. That makes the sixth death in that area, of eight storm-related deaths in Ringgold. The other two deaths occurred in the business district on Ga. 151.
Photos at the link.
There is only one area where he “might” be welcomed. Overall, he hates us. We are a very “red” state.
He will need to bring a generator for the teleprompter in order to give us his shallow lip service.
He just needs to send the money and go back to playing golf.
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