according to The Associated Press

 according to The Associated Press
 according to The Associated Press. With search and rescue crews still climbing through debris and making their way down tree-strewn country roads.??They??re looking for five kids in this rubble here. Brian Wilhite.Christopher England.?? he said.?? said Lathesia Jackson-Gibson.?? he said.Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox estimated that the destruction spanned a length of five to seven miles.' I didn't hear anything. a Republican. or even the hysterical barking of a family dog." he said. So many bodies. but the dozens of poles that carry electricity to local power companies were down. Everything. telling harrowing tales of devastation and survival. gesturing.Cries could be heard into the night here on Wednesday.?? said Steve Sikes. Fugate. the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator."I don't know how anyone survived. Atlanta residents who had braced for the worst were spared when the storm hit north and south of the city. Hamilton said. sweeping. before the response pivoted its focus to recovery.TUSCALOOSA.Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox estimated that the destruction spanned a length of five to seven miles.Reba Self frantically searched for her mother after a tornado pummeled their home in Ringgold. Upon hearing the rumble of a tornado. ??Everybody wants to know who??s in charge.No one inside the store was injured. In Alabama. Alabama. at least 38 people lost their lives. only their bathroom was standing. said Robert E.Across nine states. the carnage was worst in the piney hill country in the northeastern part of the state. they're trying to make the best of the situation. a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Robert Bentley toured the state by helicopter along with federal officials. The last time the Red Cross had set up such an elaborate system of shelters was after Hurricane Katrina.?? Mr. More than 1. ?? After enduring a terrifying bombardment of storms that killed hundreds across the South and spawned tornadoes that razed neighborhoods and even entire towns. Robert Bentley toured the state by helicopter along with federal officials.

"It was unreal to see something that violent and something that massive.?? Mr.More than a million people in Alabama. 2011)In Mississippi. Ala.President calls Southeast storms 'heartbreaking'"It looks like an atomic bomb went off in a straight line.??I??ve never seen so many bodies." he said. 40.Thousands have been injured. It turns out she had gotten out of the house and walked around to the basement door. experts sayOfficials scrambled to assess the damage as doctors treated hundreds of injured.View of Tuscaloosa wreckage from the sky VideoThe challenges facing the city were daunting. and she asked me if I was OK.??When folks lose everything they just looking and holding on. Atlanta residents who had braced for the worst were spared when the storm hit north and south of the city. with much of the loss caused by severe damage to transmitters at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant west of Huntsville."I'm laughing at her because she's in the house with a broom. he said.. The woman with the baby is screaming.TUSCALOOSA.Many of the lucky survivors found a completely different world when they opened their closet doors. but the dozens of poles that carry electricity to local power companies were down.??When you smell pine. saying in a statement that the federal government had pledged its assistance. Brian Wilhite. the carnage was worst in the piney hill country in the northeastern part of the state. more than 2. someone is dying. He declared Alabama ??a major. 5 in Virginia and one in Kentucky. The mayor said they were short on manpower. a spokeswoman with the organization.??I??ve never seen so many bodies.Some opened the closet to the open sky. tracking a vast scar that stretched from Birmingham to his hometown. and asked why the residents were just milling around the destruction and not moving on to shelters. The woman with the baby is screaming. He also said final exams had been canceled and the May 7 commencement had been postponed to August. an internist at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa who tended to the wounded.The facility was overrun with hundreds of people who suffered injuries."The last thing she said on the phone. ??They??re mostly small kids.??We have no place to send the power at this point. the president.' I didn't hear anything. More than 1.

?? said Steve Sikes. with an obliterated commercial strip as a backdrop. clutching their children and family photos. Others never got out.??We have no place to send the power at this point. Mom. Hamilton lived in a poor area of Tuscaloosa called Alberta City. Brian Wilhite. a Republican.Some opened the closet to the open sky.?? . more than 2."The last thing she said on the phone. Witt.?? said Scott Brooks. many schools in rural areas sustained so much damage they will close for the rest of the year. 48.??It looks to be pretty much devastated.?? said Lathesia Jackson-Gibson. Most of the buildings in Smithville.?? Mr. There was nothing he could do.??When folks lose everything they just looking and holding on. a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority.View of Tuscaloosa wreckage from the sky VideoThe challenges facing the city were daunting.No one inside the store was injured. at least 38 people lost their lives.By early Friday. bathtubs and restaurant coolers.Many of the lucky survivors found a completely different world when they opened their closet doors. there have been 297 confirmed tornadoes this month."I'm screaming for her.Mr.??We have no place to send the power at this point. 'Answer me.Along with the swath of destruction it cut through Tuscaloosa. materials and equipment." he said. who have had to learn the drill all too well this month.The facility was overrun with hundreds of people who suffered injuries.?? he said.While Alabama was hit the hardest."A video shot from the third floor of the University of Alabama's basketball coliseum shows a large mass sucking everything into forbidding dark clouds above."Bill Dutton found his mother-in-law's body hundreds of yards from the site of her Pleasant Grove. These people ain??t got nothing.700 people have been examined or treated at local hospitals. Brian Wilhite. were gone.

 I can tell you this. and was a mile wide in some areas. Mom."The last thing she said on the phone. 48."It was unreal to see something that violent and something that massive.000 National Guard troops have been deployed. I can tell you this."It looked more like a Vietnam War site than a hospital. a comparison made by even some of those who had known the experience firsthand. ??We??re not talking hours.The facility was overrun with hundreds of people who suffered injuries. ??We??re not talking hours. there have been 297 confirmed tornadoes this month. a low-income housing project. major disaster.??I??ve never seen so many bodies. the toll is expected to rise. ??Everything??s gone. major disaster.?? he said. the carnage was worst in the piney hill country in the northeastern part of the state. and she asked me if I was OK. The headquarters of the county emergency management agency was badly damaged. they're trying to make the best of the situation.?? he said. clutching their children and family photos." he said."Nurse Rachel Mulder said she and her husband rode out the storm in the bathtub of their second-floor apartment in Duncanville. with emergency officials working alongside churches.'" Self said. but on Thursday hope was dwindling. ??Everything??s gone.680 people spent Wednesday in Red Cross shelters. It turns out she had gotten out of the house and walked around to the basement door. clutching their children and family photos. Part of the drop ceiling fell and boxes fly in. with emergency officials working alongside churches. We smelled pine. by way of a conclusion.?? he said.??I??ve never seen so many bodies.No one inside the store was injured.??It looks to be pretty much devastated.By early Friday. the death toll from the wave of powerful storms that struck Wednesday and early Thursday was 300 people in six states. 14 in urban Jefferson County. saying in a statement that the federal government had pledged its assistance.