Eight states stagger in storms’ wake
Disastrous weather hits Tennessee hard, killing 23; four others die across the Midwest
Raleigh News & Observer
Jenny Jarvie and Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times
Rescuers searched through damaged areas from the Midwest to Tennessee after tornadoes, thunderstorms and hail over the weekend killed at least 27 people, injuring dozens and destroying hundreds of houses, officials said.
The worst hit was Tennessee, where 23 people died. Preliminary investigations suggested that the path of destruction was about 15 miles long, running in a straight line from the small town of Bogota in Dyer County to Skullbone in Gibson County.
Four damage assessment crews toured Gibson County in Tennessee on Monday while the Red Cross and the Salvation Army provided shelter and food for the homeless.
“It’s probably the largest weather disaster we’ve had in years,” said Donnie Smith, an official with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, who said that thunderstorms had not hit the state so hard since 1951.
Joe Shepard, sheriff of Gibson County, said 200 to 250 homes were destroyed in his county.
“It’s like someone dropped an atomic bomb on the county,” he said. “I’ve been a sheriff for 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like it. Things that sit out in the yard — tin roofs, clothes, cars, propane tanks — are all over the place.”
In the rural areas, Shepard said, searchers had to venture into the fields and pick through debris for victims. One family — a husband and wife and their two children — were found 150 yards from their home.
“This is pretty bad, probably the worst this county has ever seen,” said Benjamin Edwards, an emergency operations officer with Gibson County, which had eight confirmed fatalities and 37 people injured, four critically. “The storm has completely destroyed homes and buildings in the northern part of the county.”
There was no immediate estimate of the costs of the damage or of the rescue operation under way in several states. Efforts were being hampered by downed power lines and debris that clogged the rural roads.
Storms also crashed through parts of Iowa, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. At least three deaths were reported in Missouri and a man died in southern Illinois when a roof collapsed.
In Arkansas, 11 tornadoes were reported in eight counties.
Marmaduke, a town of 1,200 people, was the worst hit. At least 130 homes and 25 mobile homes were destroyed and between 400 and 500 were damaged. There were no fatalities, but there were 47 injuries, two of which were serious.
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