Tornadoes spread devastation in the South

On Wednesday, a terrifying barrage of tornadoes swept through the South, including Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Mississippi, and Kentucky, leaving 285 dead and more than 800 injured. Alabama was hit the hardest, accounting for more than half of the death toll. Search and rescue teams are still digging through debris for survivors. The storms razed neighborhoods and entire towns, resulting in nearly 1,700 people in Red Cross shelters on Wednesday night. The storms also left more than a million people in Alabama without power, as dozens of major power lines were knocked down. The full extent of the damage has yet to be determined, but it is undoubtedly catastrophic. According to one survivor, “Everything’s gone. Their cars are gone. Everything. These people ain’t got nothing.” President Obama will be in Alabama tomorrow afternoon and the federal government has pledged its assistance to this dire tragedy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/us/29storm.html?pagewanted=1&hp

Megan Borows