Storms kill scores in Alabama and other south US states
Tornado video - first clip courtesy Chris England/Crimson Tide Productions
Tornadoes and storms in the south-eastern United States have killed at least 215 people, officials say.
In Alabama, the worst-hit state, more than 142 have died in recent days - including 36 killed by a tornado that devastated the city of Tuscaloosa.Deaths and widespread devastation are also reported in Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and Virginia.
A state of emergency has been declared in seven states, and federal aid money is being sent to Alabama.
In Alabama, as many as one million people were without power on Thursday morning, as emergency workers and 2,000 soldiers scoured the wreckage for survivors.
Governor Robert Bentley said he expected the death toll to rise as more bodies were discovered in the rubble.
"We still have a number of people that are missing this morning, and we have all ground and air assets that are up in those areas trying to search for those missing individuals," he told reporters.
Mr Bentley said Alabama residents are accustomed to tornados and had taken precautions, but "in highly populated areas, it just makes it very difficult to move everyone out when a tornado comes through that's a mile wide."
The US National Weather Service has preliminary reports of nearly 300 tornadoes since the storm began on Friday, more than 150 on Wednesday alone.
One meteorologist described the tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa as possibly the "worst in Alabama's history".
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Confirmed deaths by state
- Alabama: 142
- Mississippi: 32
- Tennessee: 30
- Georgia: 13
- Virginia: 8
- Kentucky: 1
The city - home to more than 83,000 residents, and to the University of Alabama - was hit by the huge tornado in the early evening on Wednesday.
"I don't know if I've ever seen in my life anything as destructive," Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox said.By nightfall on Wednesday, the city was dark, with roads impassable, businesses unrecognisable, sirens wailing off and on, and debris littering the streets and pavements, the Associated Press reported.
The city's hospital said its emergency room had admitted about 100 people, but treated four times that number.
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US President Barack ObamaWe will continue to monitor these severe storms... and stand ready to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms”
In Tennessee, storms and subsequent flooding on Wednesday killed at least 30 people, the state emergency management agency said on Thursday.
Falling trees On Wednesday night, President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Alabama, allowing federal authorities to help co-ordinate disaster relief and to provide aid.Northern and central parts of the state bore the brunt of the latest storms. Eleven people died in Jefferson County, home to Birmingham, Alabama's largest city.
A shop-owner in Birmingham told AFP news agency that 30 homes near his store had been destroyed by a tornado on Wednesday.
Personal objects swept up by some twisters in the state have been found 50 miles (80km) away, AFP adds.
Mr Obama said he had spoken to Gov Bentley and approved his request for emergency assistance, including search and rescue teams.
Mr Obama said on Wednesday night: "We will continue to monitor these severe storms across the country and stand ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms."
The storms forced the Tennessee Valley Authority - which provides electricity to nine million people in seven states - to close three nuclear reactors at a power plant in Alabama. Hundreds of thousands of homes have lost power as a result.
"We have never experienced such a major weather event in our history," the Tennessee Valley Authority said in a statement.States of emergency were also declared in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma, following the latest storms and tornadoes.
Mississippi reported 32 deaths on Tuesday and Wednesday - including that of a police officer who shielded his nine-year-old daughter from a falling tree while on a camping holiday. The girl escaped unhurt.
At least 13 people have been killed in Georgia, 30 in Tennessee and eight in Virginia.
The current storm system is forecast to hit North and South Carolina before making its way further north-east.
Storms have hit states across the southern US for weeks, and another major storm system is forecast to bring heavy rain in the coming days.
Are you in any of the US southern states? Have you been affected by the tornadoes and storms? Send us your comments and experiences.
