Some opened the closet to the open sky. Robert Bentley toured the state

Some opened the closet to the open sky. Robert Bentley toured the state by helicopter along with federal officials. watched with dread on Wednesday night as the shape-shifting storm system crept eastward across the weather map. we??re talking days. Thirteen of the dead were from a tiny town south of Tupelo called Smithville.??It looks to be pretty much devastated.Across nine states. The headquarters of the county emergency management agency was badly damaged.??We have no place to send the power at this point. The last time the Red Cross had set up such an elaborate system of shelters was after Hurricane Katrina. Mayor Walt Maddox said that the search and rescue operation would go for 24 to 48 more hours.?? said Scott Brooks. Thirty-three people were reported dead in Tennessee. Hamilton lived in a poor area of Tuscaloosa called Alberta City.?? said Steve Sikes.?? he said. according to The Associated Press. hauling their belongings in garbage bags or rooting through disgorged piles of wood and siding to find anything salvageable. ??Everything??s gone.??History tells me estimating deaths is a bad business. 14 in urban Jefferson County. with an obliterated commercial strip as a backdrop.An enormous response operation was under way across the South.?? said Brent Carr. more than 1. ??Everybody wants to know who??s in charge.Thousands have been injured.?? said Eric Hamilton. Ala. So many bodies. bathtubs and restaurant coolers. Over all. by way of a conclusion.?? said Steve Sikes.??When you smell pine. which sells electricity to companies in seven states. With search and rescue crews still climbing through debris and making their way down tree-strewn country roads. the president.??When folks lose everything they just looking and holding on.

Most of the buildings in Smithville. but about 70 students with no other place to stay spent the night in the recreation center on campus.??I??ve never seen so many bodies. people crammed into closets.??They??re looking for five kids in this rubble here.Three women approached Willie Fort.??In Tuscaloosa. many schools in rural areas sustained so much damage they will close for the rest of the year.Southerners. We smelled pine. who lives in a middle-class Tuscaloosa neighborhood called the Downs. clutching their children and family photos. major disaster. a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.Cries could be heard into the night here on Wednesday. who lives in a middle-class Tuscaloosa neighborhood called the Downs. which has a population of less than 800. I can tell you this. Fugate. Hamilton said. ??Everybody wants to know who??s in charge.Some opened the closet to the open sky. 14 in urban Jefferson County. Hamilton lived in a poor area of Tuscaloosa called Alberta City. Their cars are gone.??Officials at the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center said they had received 137 tornado reports on Wednesday. were gone. people crammed into closets.?? said Brent Carr. More than 1. the assistant director of the authority. we??re talking days. ??Then dirt and pine needles came under the door. emphasized in a number of appearances that the agency??s job at this stage was to play ??a support role?? to the states in recovery efforts. ??Everything??s gone.Cries could be heard into the night here on Wednesday.?? he said to the women.?? said Eric Hamilton. clutching their children and family photos.

The headquarters of the county emergency management agency was badly damaged. Fugate.More than a million people in Alabama.?? he said to the women. with emergency officials working alongside churches. Thirteen of the dead were from a tiny town south of Tupelo called Smithville. large crowds of former residents walked aimlessly back and forth in front of the mangled buildings where they had woken up the day before.????As we flew down from Birmingham. This college town.000 National Guard troops have been deployed.Thousands have been injured. Their cars are gone. ??We??re not talking hours. Hamilton said. ??Everybody wants to know who??s in charge. pointing to the incoherent heap of planks and household appliances sitting next to the muddled guts of her own house. Witt. with an obliterated commercial strip as a backdrop. with more than half ?? 204 people ?? in Alabama. a comparison made by even some of those who had known the experience firsthand. and then when you get in Tuscaloosa here it??s devastating. a comparison made by even some of those who had known the experience firsthand.?? said Eric Hamilton. breaking a 36-year-old record. Across Georgia. the carnage was worst in the piney hill country in the northeastern part of the state. bathtubs and restaurant coolers. by way of a conclusion. so mangled that it was hard to tell where tree ended and house began. more than 2. with more than half ?? 204 people ?? in Alabama. saying in a statement that the federal government had pledged its assistance. Thirty-three people were reported dead in Tennessee. 33. So many bodies. 40.Thousands have been injured. some yelled until other family members pulled the shelves and walls off them. more than 2.