FUN TO BE BAD: Search for tornado survivors goes on

Monday, April 28, 2014

Search for tornado survivors goes on

27 hours ago Arkansas

Drone footage shows extent of devastation in Mayflower Arkansas

Emergency crews have been digging through the rubble for survivors of deadly tornadoes that ripped through several central and southern states of the US. At least 16 people died in Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma - 14 of them in the suburbs of Little Rock, Arkansas. Forecasters have warned millions of people to prepare for more severe storms in the region on Monday.

A large tornado damaged homes and utility lines in Tupelo, Mississippi. The North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo admitted six people with injuries, but they are not thought to be life-threatening. Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton told CNN the damage was widespread and "devastating". A 9 pm curfew is in place.

There are warnings of further tornadoes, high winds and large hailstones to strike parts of Alabama, Iowa and Louisiana.

"We've got a powerful storm system affecting the eastern two-thirds of the United States over the next few days,'' said Russell Schneider, director of the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
Authorities said the death toll from Sunday may rise as crews searched the wreckage of destroyed buildings.

"We're trying to make sure everyone is accounted for," Brandon Morris, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, told the Associated Press news agency. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said the storm "may be one of the strongest we have seen".
"We don't have a count on injuries or missing. We're trying to get a handle on the missing part," he said.

A tornado-damaged home awaits clean up and repairs in Baxter Springs, Kansas on 28 April 2014

Parts of Baxter Springs, Kansas, were also damaged by the dangerous storms

President Obama, on a trip to the Philippines, offered his deepest condolences to those affected on Sunday and said federal emergency officials would be on the ground to help.

"Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes," he said.

Most of the casualties were in suburbs west and north of Little Rock. Authorities initially reported a preliminary death toll of 16 in the area but later amended it to 14. Building were destroyed while vehicles and trailers were thrown into the air. Mayflower and Vilonia, two small towns in Faulkner County, appear to have borne the brunt of the damage. In Vilonia, the County Sheriff's office spoke of a "mass casualty situation".

The Arkansas tornado touched down about 10 miles (16km) west of the city of Little Rock and left a 40-mile (65km) path of destruction. It is said to have passed through several northern suburbs - including Mayflower where a witness described a twister half a mile wide crossing Interstate 40 on Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said.

Congressman Tim Griffin told Reuters news agency an "entire neighbourhood of 50 homes or so" in Faulkner County had been destroyed, with many "completely gone except the foundation".

Many homes and businesses, including a new secondary school worth $14m (£8.3m), were left in ruins in Vilonia after the storm.

SEVERE WEATHER TRACKING...WEATHER CHANNEL
http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-central/tornado-outbreak-live-updates-severe-weather-20140427
We are tracking a dangerous threat of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding rainfall now through Wednesday on The Weather Channel and weather.com. For the full forecast each day through Wednesday, click the link below.
(FULL FORECAST: Multiple-Day Severe Threat)
As of 7:20 p.m. CDT Monday, the Storm Prediction Center had received 427 reports of severe weather since 7 a.m. Sunday, including 53 reports of tornadoes. Our severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes said it is too early to know how many separate tornadoes touched down, as damage surveys will be conducted by local National Weather Service offices to determine that figure.
Several people have already been killed by tornadoes in this outbreak and the potential for more life-threatening storms will continue for the next few days.

MONDAY NIGHT:

10:52